


Worst Case Scenario

by Treon



Category: White Collar
Genre: Community: whitecollar100, Drabble Bang, Friendship, Gen, Trust Issues
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-19
Updated: 2014-10-22
Packaged: 2018-02-17 23:48:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 19
Words: 20,900
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2327588
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Treon/pseuds/Treon
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>An easy case turns into everybody's worst nightmare.  A drabble bang.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. A New Case

**Author's Note:**

> Written for whitecollar100's [Drabble Bang Challenge](http://whitecollar100.livejournal.com/216230.html). With many, many thanks to [Mums The Word](http://archiveofourown.org/users/Mums_the_Word) for her invaluable help in mapping out the prompts.
> 
> The story consists of 204 drabbles, each of them exactly 100 words.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompts: 050 Hat, 006 File, 034 Coffee, 191 Excite, 063 Forge, 005 Case

*****  
(Prompt: # 050 Hat)

Neal enjoyed walking to work. The city enveloped him. On the street he was just one in a crowd. The people rushing around him didn't know or care whether he was a con or a convict or a CI.

He did stand out though, for a couple of reasons. As he walked down the street, the hat on his head caused a few people to turn and stare. He loved attracting attention with his hat. It left people impressed with his style, and ensured they did not look at his feet.

So despite being late today, Neal walked to work.

 

*****  
(Prompt: # 006 File)

Coming into the office, Neal flipped his hat onto his desk. It landed right by two thick files that somebody had put there. Neal flicked one of them open, only to discover long rows of numbers.

He looked around, hoping this was some kind of office prank. But nobody seemed to be looking his way. In fact, Peter wasn't even in his office.

Neal flipped a few more pages. All numbers.

This was cruel and unusual punishment.

There was only one way to solve the problem. Take a coffee break and hope the files disappeared by the time he returned.

 

*****  
(Prompt: # 034 Coffee)

Neal poured the watery coffee into his mug and considered the problem. Files did not disappear on their own. They needed help. The easiest way to offload unwanted work was to pass it to one of the probies (while implying that it was Peter's idea).

Bringing the mug to his lips, Neal looked round the bullpen. Rob, the newest probie on the team, was chatting up one of the female agents. Neal shook his head. The guy didn't have a chance.

Then there was Sean. Who was sitting by his desk, head bent over his work. Hm. Work invited work.

 

*****  
(Prompt: # 191 Excite)

Jones came in to the kitchenette with a wide smile. "Heard the good news?"

There was only one kind of news which Neal considered good. The ones that started (or ended) with "your sentence has been commuted". But he didn't think that's what Jones had in mind. It wasn't the type of thing to instill excitement in a Federal agent's heart.

Jones didn't wait for Neal's answer. He poured himself a cup of coffee. "We got a dealer in fake diamonds this morning."

"This morning," Neal repeated.

"Yep." Jones briskly stirred his coffee, then took a careful sip. "Amazing, huh?"

 

*****  
(Prompt: # 063 Forge )

Neal agreed it was amazing. Last night, when Neal had left work, Peter had said they had cleared out their caseload, and that they're going to be focusing on cold cases for the next few days. How had they managed to catch a diamond forger by the next morning?

"What happened?"

"Diana brought him in."

"Diana," Neal repeated, just to make sure he heard right. He was starting to feel like an echo chamber.

"Yep. She was out shopping and she spotted them or something."

"Forged diamonds."

Jones smiled, and downed his coffee. "I'd have loved to be there too."

 

*****  
(Prompt: # 005 Case)

Neal couldn't help but feel slighted. He was the fake diamond expert. Why was he being sidelined on this case?

"Why didn't Peter call me in?"

"He didn't need to." Jones shrugged. "Guy's in interrogation now and the way it looks, he's going to break."

He grinned at Neal's hurt-puppy look. "You know, we did catch thieves before you showed up."

Neal managed a smile.

"Besides," Clinton threw out as he left, "maybe if you get to work on time, you won't miss out on the action."

Neal sighed at Clinton's departing back, and headed for the interrogation room.


	2. An Easy Interrogation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompts: 026 Glass, 054 Sweat, 076 Promise, 090 Ammunition, 133 Games, 027 Partner

(Prompt: # 026 Glass)  
  
Next to the interrogation room was an observation room, where a window made of two-way glass afforded the observer a clear view of what was going on inside.  
  
Neal stopped by the window and peered inside. Peter and Diana were sitting across from a thin looking young man.  
  
Neal had stood here many times, observing the agents interrogating their suspects. He always found he had mixed feelings. Back in the good old days, Neal had gone through many an interrogation. And now... now, despite working for the FBI, he still empathized with the people who had to face Peter.  
  
  
*****  
  
(Prompt: # 054 Sweat )  
  
Inside, Peter was leading the interrogation while Diana satisfied herself with glaring at the suspect.  
  
"Okay..." Peter held a small bag, which Neal supposed held the forged diamonds. "Let's start from the beginning, shall we, Mr. Moore? You were caught with forged diamonds. That's a felony."  
  
The suspect sighed. "I told you, I didn't forge them"  
  
Diana rolled her eyes.  
  
Peter just gave a tight, little smile. "Right. So who did?"  
  
Moore shrugged. "I don't know."  
  
Neal shook his head. It seemed Jones was right.  
  
The guy was sweating. He was fidgety. He was nervous. He was going to break.  
  
  
*****  
  
(Prompt: # 076 Promise )  
  
Peter continued the interrogation. "If you didn't forge these diamonds, who did?"  
  
Moore shrugged.  
  
"Who sold you these?"  
  
The suspect considered his nails for a few silent moments before he lifted his eyes back up to Peter. "I don't know his name."  
  
"Really?" Peter asked in complete disbelief.  
  
"I swear."  
  
"You bought diamonds from a nameless guy?"  
  
The suspect shrugged.  
  
"The way I see it, Mr. Moore, you have two options. If you give up your partner, I'll go easy on you. But if you prefer to stay silent," Peter ended, "you're going to go to jail. It's your choice."

  
  
*****

  
  
(Prompt: # 090 Ammunition)  
  
Jones entered the observation room, file in hand. He stopped by Neal to take a look. "Do we have a confession yet?"  
  
Neal glanced at him. "Nope."  
  
"Tougher than I thought." Clinton held up the file in his hand with a smile. "But watch this."  
  
A minute later, the door to the interrogation room opened and Jones stepped inside. He put the file in front of Peter and then leaned down to whisper something in his ear. Peter nodded and smiled. Neal had seen that look before. It meant Peter now had the ammunition he needed to close his case.

  
  
*****  
  
(Prompt: # 133 Games)  
  
Once Jones retreated, Peter turned to the suspect. "Mr. Moore. We ran your name through the system, and look what we found."  
  
Peter flipped the file open and turned it around for Moore to see.  
  
"There's an outstanding warrant for your arrest by Interpol. Seems you've been busy."  
  
The suspect just shrugged.  
  
"Ever been in a Balkan prison?" Peter closed the file and leaned forward on the table. "You have a choice - either you cooperate or I turn you over to Interpol."  
  
The guy wasn't up to playing games.  
  
"I'm supposed to meet with him today," the suspect finally said.  
  
  
*****  
  
(Prompt: # 027 Partner)  
  
"Who are you meeting with?" Peter asked. "Your partner?"  
  
Moore cleared his throat. "He's not exactly my partner."  
  
Diana rolled her eyes again. "You just buy your fake diamonds from him."  
  
Peter quieted her with a glance. "What's his name?"  
  
"I told you, I don't know." His glance moved between the two FBI agents, who didn't seem to believe him. "Really, I don't. But I'm going to meet him in the park."  
  
"When?" Peter asked.  
  
"At noon."  
  
"Which park?"  
  
"It's this small..." Moore broke off. "I'll show you on a map."  
  
Peter grinned, a look of triumph on his face.


	3. A Girl's Best Friend

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompts: 046 Rumor, 025 Diamonds, 040 Judge, 140 Superb, 177 Shop, 176 Toes, 036 Skin, 168 Move, 141 Average, 137 Hunger, 083 Sweet, 138 Sport

(Prompt: # 046 Rumor)  
  
Peter and Diana both looked quite satisfied with themselves when they came out of the interrogation room.  
  
Peter was surprised to see Neal waiting outside. "What are you doing here?"  
  
"I work here. Remember?"  
  
Peter sighed. "That's not what I meant."  
  
"Besides," Neal hurried to add before Peter could elaborate further on what he  _did_  mean, "I was curious."  
  
"About?"  
  
Neal smiled. "I heard Diana was out shopping for diamonds, and you know how rumors start around here."  
  
Diana glared at him. She'd had quite a bit of practice over the past hour. "What rumors?"  
  
"That depends. Are they true?"  
  
  
*****  
  
(Prompt: # 025 Diamonds)  
  
"I don't know what you heard, but I wasn't out shopping for diamonds," Diana said.  
  
An answer which didn't satisfy Neal at all. "Then what were you doing?"  
  
"None of your business, Caffrey."  
  
"Ooh." Somebody was touchy. A good time to change the subject. "So... how did you do it?"  
  
Diana frowned at him. "Do what?"  
  
"I mean, what? You just picked up a diamond and realized it was a crafted one?"  
  
"You find that so hard to believe?"  
  
"The good ones are really hard to spot, so..." Neal shrugged. "Yes."  
  
Diana turned to Peter. "Can I arrest him? Please?"  
  
  
*****  
  
(Prompt: # 040 Judge)  
  
"Here." Peter held out the bag of diamonds. "What do you think?"  
  
Neal took out his loupe. Taking one diamond out of the bag he carefully inspected it from all sides. Surprised, he sucked in his breath. He recognized this diamond. He knew who made it.  
  
"Impressed?" Peter misinterpreted his reaction.  
  
"Yeah." Neal looked up, a smile pasted on his face. "Impressed Diana managed to pick those out as fake."  
  
"They're that good?"  
  
Neal gave Peter a look.  
  
Diana swatted him. "I can pick out fake diamonds, Caffrey."  
  
"Really?" Neal smiled at her. "Want to try out a blind test?"  
  
  
*****  
  
(Prompt: # 140 Superb)  
  
"Neal," Peter gently moved his CI back to the matter at hand. "What do you think? They're pretty good forgeries, aren't they?"  
  
Neal nodded. "They're pretty good."  
  
"Superb, wouldn't you say?"  
  
Neal nodded again. "Yeah, they're pretty good."  
  
"Neal Caffrey quality?" Peter continued to press.  
  
Neal tensed at the question. "If they would be, you wouldn't realize they're fakes."  
  
"At least he'll never be suspected of faking modesty," Diana muttered under her breath.  
  
Neal eyed her. "Hey, if you prefer I lie..."  
  
She simply shrugged.  
  
"So," Neal he held up the diamond, "how  _did_  you figure out this was fake?"  
  
  
*****  
  
(Prompt: # 177 Shop)  
  
[Earlier that morning... ]  
  
Diana glanced at her watch as she entered the jewelry store. She didn't have much time for this.  
  
And there was nobody at the counter. Great. "Hello?" she called out. "Hello?"  
  
After waiting a full minute with no answer, she walked around the counter and towards the back.  
  
"Yes. Hi." A shop keeper suddenly appeared. "Where do you think you're going?"  
  
"I was just..." She took out a ring, "I'd like to reset this. It was my grandmother's."  
  
"Hm." The man took it, but barely looked at it. "Sure."  
  
He looked nervous.  
  
"Is everything alright?" she asked.  
  
  
*****  
  
(Prompt: # 176 Toes)  
  
"Yeah, sure." He offered a quick smile. "I'm just fine. Why wouldn't I be?"  
  
The guy didn't look just fine. He looked tense. Diana had been trained to be on her toes and right now her law enforcement gut instincts told her that something was wrong. She might have walked into a holdup. "I'd like to see your safe."  
  
He opened his eyes wide. "What?!"  
  
"It's okay. I'm an FBI agent."  
  
"Do you have a warrant?"  
  
"I have probable cause."  
  
The guy's response wasn't what Diana had expected. He pushed her down, and then turned on his heels and ran.  
  
  
*****  
  
(Prompt: # 036 Skin)  
  
"What the hell..." and he still had her ring, too. Quickly struggling back to her feet, she hurried after him.  
  
The guy vaulted over the counter, and out the door, with Diana right behind him. Except, she misjudged the height she had to clear. Stumbling, she fell into an ungainly heap on the floor.  
  
Ouch. She had skinned her palms.  
  
 _Now_  she was upset.  
  
Running out the door, she screeched to a stop, then looked up and down the street. A flash of color caught her attention. The guy was getting away. Not wasting a minute, she hurried after him.  
  
  
*****  
  
(Prompt: # 168 Move)  
  
She kept right behind the guy for a full three blocks before she finally managed to corner him in an alleyway. He tried to jump over a high chain-link fence, but it was too high for him, even with his proven athletic abilities.  
  
He turned around, his eyes searching for a way out.  
  
"Care to explain why you ran?" Diana asked, panting.  
  
He didn't.  
  
"Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee Yah!" he shouted.  
  
What the hell?  
  
He threw a sidekick, spun around, then threw out another sidekick.  
  
Diana stepped back as the man advanced, ducking his attacks. And then she pulled out a gun.  
  
  
*****  
  
(Prompt: # 141 Average)  
  
Neal listened attentively as Diana spun out the events of that morning (she skipped some unimportant aspects involving falling agents). "After I caught him, I searched him and found the diamonds on him," she finished with a shrug. "Just an average day for White Collar, huh?"  
  
Peter chuckled. "Just about."  
  
"So let me get this straight," Neal said. "You didn't actually figure out the diamonds were fake. In fact," he continued, "it sounds like you just stumbled into arresting this guy by accident." He shook his head. So much for average.  
  
Diana turned to Peter. " _Now_  can I arrest him?"  
  
  
*****  
  
(Prompt: # 137 Hunger)  
  
Peter and Neal headed back to the office area.  
  
"I hope we finish up before lunch," Peter said.  
  
Neal gave him a sidelong glance. "Why's that?"  
  
Peter smiled at him. "I'm hungry."  
  
"Good thing it's an easy case, huh?"  
  
"Yep," Peter agreed. "Hey, want to try out a new restaurant today?"  
  
Neal stopped dead in his tracks. Peter never tried out new restaurants. "Why?"  
  
"I'm taking El out tomorrow night. I thought I'll go out for something fancy this time and I want to check out the options."  
  
"So you want me to be your food taster?"  
  
Peter grinned. "Yeah."  
  
  
*****  
  
(Prompt: # 083 Sweet )  
  
"Oh, wait. Hold on." Peter stopped as they passed the kitchenette. "I saw a box of donuts here before." He moved a few odds and ends around, but couldn't see any donuts.  
  
Neal raised an eyebrow. "What's with the sweet tooth all of a sudden?"  
  
"I don't know." Peter looked up from his searching. "Catching criminals makes me hungry. Must be the mental effort."  
  
Peter continued searching. He was not called "The Archaeologist" for nothing. Indeed, he finally found the last remaining donut, hidden away behind a few strategically placed files. He took a relieved bite. "Yum."  
  
"You're scary sometimes."  
  
  
*****  
  
(Prompt: # 138 Sport)  
  
"Interrogation is like a sport," Peter said. "I get hungry after shooting some hoops too."  
  
"This one didn't seem like much of a sport to me," Neal observed.  
  
Peter finished off his donut and, to Neal's dismay, brushed his hands clean on his jacket. "What about those files I left for you?"  
  
Neal furrowed his brow in question. "Files? I'm not sure-"  
  
"Get back to work, Neal." A pause, and then, "Oh, Neal."  
  
Peter held out his hand, palm up.  
  
With a quiet sigh, Neal produced the forged diamond and put it in Peter's hand.  
  
"Now get back to work."


	4. No Warning

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompts: 073 Ice, 033 Wine, 162 Velvet, 198 Authentic, 127 Passion, 196 Jinx, 130 Ecstasy, 051 Watch, 001 Clue

(Prompt: # 073 Ice)

Back at his desk, Neal glanced over the waiting files. He flipped a few pages over, just to look as though he was working, but he had more important business to take care of. 

Ever since he'd seen those diamonds, an icy fear gripped his insides.

Taking out his phone, he dialed Mozzie's current number. The phone rang, and rang, and rang, but nobody answered. He dialed Mozzie's previous number. No answer there either. 

He surreptitiously glanced around. Nobody was paying him any attention. Then he sent a warning text to all of Mozzie's known phones. "Meeting is a trap".

 

*****

(Prompt: # 033 Wine)

[A few days earlier...]

Neal had spent the past few days undercover, 'posing' as an art forger looking for a job in a new gang. It had been exhaustive work, and that day the White Collar team had swooped down to arrest all the gang members.

When he came home, all Neal wanted to do was call it a night.

But Mozzie had other plans. 

When Neal stepped into his apartment, he found his friend sitting by the kitchen table, a glass of wine in his hand. Waiting. Neal wondered for how long.

"Good of you to finally show up."

 

*****

(Prompt: # 162 Velvet)

"What are you doing here, Moz?" Neal asked. He picked up the wine bottle from the table and checked its contents (empty).

In lieu of an answer, Mozzie took out a small, velvet bag, and shook its contents - diamonds - onto the table. "Here," he said, "have a look and tell me what you think."

Neal picked up one, and gave it a cursory glance. "These are fake?"

Mozzie grinned enigmatically. "You tell me."

"Hm." Neal went to get his equipment. 

He examined the diamonds carefully, the minutes ticking by, before he finally looked back up at Mozzie. "Who made these?"

 

*****

(Prompt: # 198 Authentic)

Mozzie grinned, proud as if he made them himself. "They're good, aren't they?"

"Pretty good," Neal allowed. 

"Neal, these are the best I've ever seen."

Neal cleared his throat, but Mozzie cut him off before he had a chance to say anything. "The best, Neal."

"Fine, they're almost authentic." He could do better, but these were a close second. "Who made them?"

Mozzie shrugged. "I can't tell you."

Neal lifted an eyebrow in silent question. Moz nodded towards his ankle. "The less you know, the better."

Neal lifted the diamond up against the light. "Too late for that, isn't it?"

 

*****

(Prompt: # 127 Passion)

Neal pulled out a chair and joined Mozzie by the table. "So what can you tell me about him?"

"Her," Mozzie corrected him.

"Her?"

Mozzie nodded. "Her."

"Okay..." Neal asked carefully, "so what can you tell me about her?"

"She knows how to forge a diamond."

"And?"

"And she's passionate about her work." He lifted his finger to emphasize his point. "That's very important."

Neal shot him a hurt look. "So you have a new partner?"

"Neal," Mozzie hurried to calm him down, "you know that if I could, I'd rather go with you. Don't worry, this is just temporary."

 

*****

(Prompt: # 196 Jinx)

Neal dropped the diamonds back into their little bag. "Whether I make them or not, if there's a new source of fake diamonds in town, Peter will hear about it, sooner or-"

"Shhhhhhhhhh!" Mozzie hurried to silence Neal. "You're going to jinx it."

Neal rolled his eyes. "Regardless, I hope you're being careful."

"When have I not been careful?" Mozzie asked.

Neal shot him a look. 

"Look, even if your Suit gets wind of these diamonds, he'll never trace them back to me," Moz said with conviction. He reached for his wine glass. "I've got it all covered. Don't worry."

 

*****

(Prompt: # 130 Ecstasy)

Peter was practically humming to himself as he entered his office. It had started off as a good day, but now it was turning out to be a great day. His team already caught one one criminal, and soon they'll get another one. What more could he ask for?

As he sat down by his desk, he flipped through the files waiting in his in-box. Even paperwork couldn't dampen his mood now. Peter loved his job. He usually enjoyed the challenge of tracking down criminals, but he also enjoyed a quick victory. Whichever way, catching criminals was pure joy.

 

*****

(Prompt: # 051 Watch)

In between signing off on surveillance requests and checking his email, Peter glanced up from his work. Across the bullpen, he caught sight of Neal, not working on those files he was supposed to be working on. 

And just like that, his great day came to a screeching halt. Peter could feel a headache coming on. 

Neal's reluctance to sit and do paperwork was not suspicious in itself - Peter knew it was boring work - but the FBI agent had worked long enough with his CI to know when something was up. Or rather, when his CI was up to something. 

 

*****

(Prompt: # 001 Clue)

Neal had that shifty look about him. That look he got when he was trying to make the agents around him think they shouldn't be suspicious, when in fact they had every reason to be.

Peter had that dreadful feeling that this was somehow connected to those forged diamonds. What else could it be? Now that he thought about it, Neal had been awfully inquisitive about them. That was not unusual for Neal, but now Peter was starting to wonder. 

What was Neal's connection to those diamonds? And what was Neal up to?

For the moment, Peter had no clue.


	5. Forewarned

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompts: 132 Pretend, 030 Girlfriend, 157 Ocean, 178 Cook, 175 Knees, 197 Enchant, 091 Shot, 019 Cash, 070 Roll, 039 Blood, 183 Follow, 056 Melt

(Prompt: # 132 Pretend)  
  
Neal tapped a pen against his desk, thinking what else he should be doing. The White Collar team would be starting to gear up soon for the takedown, and he hadn't managed to reach Mozzie yet. He hoped his friend had gotten the message and would stay away from this upcoming meeting.  
  
Neal glanced up at Peter's office, and caught Peter staring at him. With a quick smile, he returned to his files, pretending to read through them. But the numbers just ran together into one long column.  
  
This wasn't the first time he should have warned Moz, and didn't...  
  
  
*****  
  
(Prompt: # 030 Girlfriend)  
  
It was shortly after Kate had joined their team.  
  
Mozzie had a hard time accepting her as part of the crew. "We don't have a crew," he had told Neal, "and you don't need to involve your girlfriend in everything we do."  
  
When Mozzie needed to get to his cash reserves, he didn't want Kate to come along. But Neal insisted she should, and that is why they all packed into a car and followed Mozzie's instructions to a desolate spot upstate.  
  
Neal and Kate stayed in the car, as lookouts, while Mozzie headed off to his secret hiding place.  
  
  
*****  
  
(Prompt: # 157 Ocean)  
  
The two sat in the car, watching Mozzie's lone figure disappear down the trail. After about five minutes, Neal opened his door, an inviting smile on his face. "Come on."  
  
Outside, Neal popped the trunk and pulled out a picnic basket.  
  
Kate looked back towards where Mozzie had disappeared. "What about Mozzie?"  
  
Neal grinned. "If you haven't noticed, Mozzie's paranoid. He sees the Feds everywhere we go." She looked at him. "The Feds have no idea we're here. Come on."  
  
He led the way through the brush, until they arrived at a spot overlooking the ocean. "What do you think?"  
  
  
*****  
  
(Prompt: # 178 Cook)  
  
Neal was quite a good cook, but he learned quite early on that it wasn't only  _what_  you made that counted, as _how_ you presented it.  
  
Someday he might be able to afford a respectable picnic. For now, he had to wing it. With a flourish, he took out a wine bottle. It was an expensive Bordeaux. One which Neal had refilled with cheaper wine.  
  
Kate looked up from the bottle. "Is this for real?"  
  
"Not yet. But one day... one day, we'll be able to buy any wine we want. And then I'll treat you to the real thing."  
  
  
*****  
  
(Prompt: # 175 Knees)  
  
Neal had fallen in love with Kate the first time he had met her. At the sight of that beautiful smile he had almost fallen to his knees and proposed, right there on the spot.  
  
He knew that this was the woman he'd want to spend the rest of his life with. Wherever she'd go, he'd go with her. They would raise their children together in a little cottage with a white picket fence. They would have the perfect life together.  
  
But then he remembered the reason he was there. To run a con. Future happiness would have to wait.  
  
  
*****  
  
(Prompt: # 197 Enchant)  
  
Neal sat leaning against a tree, Kate enveloped in his embrace.  
  
Neal gestured towards the vast expanse of blue in front of them. "If you look far enough, far out towards the horizon, you can see Paris."  
  
Kate eyed him with a quiet smile.  
  
"When we get back on our feet," Neal spun out his tale, "we'll go there, and settle down. We can buy a bistro."  
  
"A bistro?" Kate asked.  
  
"A little family place. We'll cook what we like and the people will come and enjoy themselves."  
  
Kate smiled. "Sounds like a nice dream."  
  
"And we'll make it real."  
  
  
*****  
  
(Prompt: # 091 Shot)  
  
A single shot interrupted their picnic. And then a few more in quick succession. Neal wasn't sure if he'd heard four or five, with the echoes all around them. A few birds squawked off into the sky above. And then silence.  
  
Kate's eyes landed on Neal. "Does Mozzie have a gun?"  
  
Neal shook his head. Mozzie didn't believe in guns.  
  
What followed was a mad dash back to the car. Neal started up the engine, ready for a quick escape.  
  
There were police cars all over now. Neal hadn't seen them coming. Though, to be honest, he hadn't been looking.  
  
  
*****  
  
(Prompt: # 019 Cash)  
  
Mozzie knew that bringing Kate along was a recipe for disaster. He should have insisted, but it was hard to argue with Neal when he had his mind set on something.  
  
Leaving the two lovebirds to keep watch, Moz made his way down to his secret stash. He glanced back every once in a while, but everything seemed to be peaceful. The birds were chirping in the woods around him.  
  
He had hid the money under a tree. It took him twenty minutes to dig it out.  
  
Then he turned around and realized he was surrounded by policemen.  
  
"Hands up!"  
  
*****  
  
(Prompt: # 070 Roll )  
  
Neal squinted as he looked around him. Where was Mozzie?  
  
And then he saw him, running out of the woods, making a beeline right towards them. Neal had never seen the guy run so fast. A few cops were right behind him. One stopped and aimed his gun.  
  
"Moz!" Neal shouted. "Behind you!"  
  
Moz didn't even turn around. He dropped and rolled.  
  
The car was already moving when Mozzie approached at a run. Kate kept the rear door open, allowing Moz to leap inside.  
  
Neal took off.  
  
"Why are they shooting?" he shouted towards the back seat.  
  
"I don't know!"  
  
  
*****  
  
(Prompt: # 039 Blood)  
  
"Moz," Kate asked, trying to calm down the situation, "were you shot?"  
  
"I don't know." Mozzie's hand was clenched to his chest. He held it up, and realized it was covered in blood. "I've been hit!" he shrieked. "I'm dying!"  
  
It was cramped in the back seat, but Kate tried to ease Mozzie into a lying position. "Moz, calm down."  
  
"Calm down?! I'm going to die!"  
  
Neal looked up towards the rear-view mirror, where he met Kate's eyes. She shook her head. "It's just a scratch, Mozzie. Don't panic, just take deep breaths."  
  
As if. "I'm going to die!"  
  
  
*****  
  
(Prompt: # 183 Follow)  
  
The police cars were right behind them, sirens wailing. Neal took a wild left, turning onto a small, dirt road.  
  
In the back, Mozzie bumped his head. "Hey! Can you be more considerate? I'm dying, remember?"  
  
"Moz, you're not-" Neal gave up on that sentence when he took another sharp turn. He had to focus on his driving.  
  
"We'll be caught and then I'll be dead."  
  
This time it was Kate who tried to calm him down. "Moz, you're not going to die."  
  
"Or maybe I'll be dead first, it would save me the humiliation. This is all your fault!"  
  
  
*****  
  
(Prompt: # 056 Melt )  
  
Neal had managed to shake off their pursuers, and everything had turned out okay, though for months later Mozzie continued to grumble.  
  
When Neal was with Kate, everything else melted away. Neal supposed that was part of the reason why Mozzie didn't want her around. He wanted Neal focused and alert.  
  
Neal looked up from his reverie - at the files he was supposed to be reading, at the office around him. His picnic with Kate had been a lifetime ago. Now he was a CI, and his handlers were about to arrest Mozzie. He had to be focused and alert.


	6. Hands Up

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompts: 102 Grass, 012 Team, 101 Tree, 088 Weapon, 173 Head, 100 React, 038 Muscles, 014 Paper, 068 Jump, 092 Shout, 002 Catch

(Prompt: # 102 Grass)  
  
Neal approached Peter's office and knocked lightly on the door. "Hey."  
  
The FBI agent looked up from his work.  
  
"You're leaving for the takedown?"  
  
"Yep."  
  
"I thought I could help out."  
  
Peter blinked in surprise. "You prefer the van over the office? You hate the van."  
  
Neal grinned. "You know what they say - the grass is always greener on the other side."  
  
"Yeah," Peter answered, "but you always keep complaining that this 'other side' is stuffy and smelly."  
  
Neal scratched the back of his neck. He really hated the van. "It trumps going over bank statements."  
  
Peter smiled at that.  
  
  
*****  
  
(Prompt: # 012 Team)  
  
The van was stuffy, even more than usual, with Peter, Clinton, Diana and Neal.  
  
As the minutes ticked down till the scheduled meet, Neal got up from his seat. "How about I bring coffee for everybody?" he suggested. "I saw a coffee cart by the entrance."  
  
"Sit down," Peter ordered.  
  
"But-"  
  
"The cart's part of our team, he doesn't really sell coffee."  
  
Damn. "Well, I think I saw another coffee cart down the street," Neal tried again.  
  
Peter shot him a look. Neal obviously wanted to get out. "We'll get coffee later."  
  
Neal smiled a smile he didn't feel. "Great."  
  
  
*****  
  
(Prompt: # 101 Tree)  
  
Right on time, Moore entered the small park. In one hand he was carrying a briefcase, with money supplied by the Feds for the planned diamond buy. In his other he held a newspaper.  
  
He looked - if it was possible - even more nervous than usual.  
  
"He's going to ruin it," Clinton said, to nobody in particular. Neal hoped he was right.  
  
Peter shrugged. Worst case, they won't wait for the exchange to take place. They'll arrest their suspect with the fake diamonds on him.  
  
Moore sat down on a bench underneath the tall, oak tree that presided over the park.  
  
  
*****  
  
(Prompt: # 088 Weapon)  
  
Peter smiled to himself. Everything was going as planned. All the agents had to do now was wait for their target to show up. He'd soon have his arrest.  
  
He raised his walkie-talkie to his lips. "All teams stand by. Be careful, this guy might be armed." He checked his holster to make sure his own weapon was ready.  
  
Neal shot him a worried look, which Peter caught. "What?"  
  
Neal just shrugged. What could he possibly say?  
  
"Is there something wrong?" Peter continued to press.  
  
Neal threw him a smile and shook his head.  
  
Peter frowned. Something was wrong.  
  
  
*****  
  
(Prompt: # 173 Head)  
  
More time passed. Neal risked a look at his watch. It was already ten past twelve. Maybe Mozzie had gotten the message after all. He was just about to mention something about a wasted afternoon in the park, when Diana spoke up. Her gaze fixed on the screen in front of her. "Boss. You're not going to believe this."  
  
Peter glanced at the screen, his eyes opening wide in surprise. There was no question about it: the man walking down the street, towards the park, newspaper tucked under his arm, was Mozzie.  
  
Every head in the van turned towards Neal.  
  
  
*****  
  
(Prompt: # 100 React)  
  
Neal expected Peter to get upset, to give him that long suffering sigh and then go into his 'you let me down again' speech. Neal's mind was already racing ahead to what he should say in his defense.   
  
But for a long, long moment, nobody said a word.   
  
"Peter-" Neal tried to break the silence.  
  
"Don't," Peter cut him off. He then turned to Jones. "Stay here. Make sure he doesn't go anywhere until you hear from me."  
  
Clinton nodded. "No problem."  
  
Peter glanced at the monitor. Mozzie had stopped by the entrance to the park. The takedown was imminent.  
  
  
  
*****  
  
(Prompt: # 038 Muscles)  
  
Mozzie liked to think of himself as a master con. He relied on his brains to get what he wanted, not his muscles. Sure, sometimes he needed Neal's athletic abilities, but those weren't what kept him alive, free and quite rich.  
  
Arriving at the park, he stopped and surveyed the area. There was barely anybody here at this time of day, which was why he chose this park.  
  
He could see Moore already waiting for him at the meeting spot. Mozzie didn't really trust the guy and so took extra security measures during their meetings. Right now, nothing seemed suspicious.  
  
  
*****  
  
(Prompt: # 014 Paper)  
  
Mozzie sat down next to Moore. Without saying a word, he put his folded paper on the bench, between them, and picked up Moore's copy. He then grabbed the briefcase Moore had put there, got up and started walking away.  
  
But before he could take more than two steps, agents appeared out of nowhere, ringing him, guns out.  
  
Peter stepped forward. "Hands up!" he shouted. "Don't move!"  
  
Mozzie raised his hands. "Suit!" Then, with a frown - "What are you doing here?"  
  
"What are  _you_  doing here, Mozzie?" He nodded towards the briefcase. "What will I find if I open it?"  
  
  
*****  
  
(Prompt: # 068 Jump )  
  
Mozzie furtively looked around. The Suits were closing in on him. There was only one thing he could do.  
  
"Hey, look!" he shouted, pointing right behind Peter.  
  
Peter didn't bat an eye. "You think I'm going to fall for that? Put down that briefcase, Mozzie."  
  
Mozzie shrugged. It had been worth a shot. Now it was time for plan B. Without further ado, he jumped up on the bench, and over to the other side. He could do athletics when his life depended on it. Then he made a run for it.  
  
Barely suppressing a sigh, Peter followed in pursuit.  
  
  
*****  
  
(Prompt: # 092 Shout)  
  
Neal watched it all play out on the monitor in front of him, a shout stuck in his throat. He should have been running interference with the FBI, helping Mozzie escape, not sitting in the van watching his friend get hunted down.  
  
But there wasn't much he could do. Jones was right there, not taking his eyes off him.  
  
He gave the agent a sidelong glance. Maybe he could still talk his way out of this.  
  
He cleared his throat. "This wasn't-"  
  
But Clinton wasn't up to listening. "Caffrey, the less you say now, the better. For both of us."  
  
  
*****  
  
(Prompt: # 002 Catch)  
  
Mozzie was resourceful, but he was outnumbered. The Feds had set up positions all around the park, covering all the exists.  
  
Behind him, Peter was gaining ground. He got closer and closer, until finally he took a running leap and tackled Mozzie, bringing him down.  
  
"Hey! That's police brutality!" Mozzie struggled, but Peter kept a firm hand on his suspect. With his other hand he produced handcuffs and clicked them onto Mozzie's wrists.  
  
Peter had known Mozzie for years, and yet he had never thought this day would come. Neither did Mozzie.  
  
"Mozzie," the Federal agent said, "you're under arrest."


	7. Been There

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompts: 193 Reckless, 105 Day, 124 Social, 139 Ordinary, 180 Dress, 055 Drip, 121 Write, 159 Forest, 015 Clay, 187 Repulse, 044 Secret, 017 Ink, 143 Extreme, 147 Wisdom

(Prompt: # 193 Reckless)  
  
Neal sat in the van and watched as Mozzie was led away in cuffs. He couldn't believe it was really happening. Mozzie. Arrested. Those two words didn't go together.  
  
Neal remembered his own arrest.  
  
Mozzie had warned him, but Neal didn't care. He had been reckless. He had fallen into Peter's trap and got caught.  
  
He had thanked Peter, and he had meant it. He would have never found Kate without the agent's 'help'. But that moment, when the cuffs clicked shut and he turned from a free man (or fugitive) into a prisoner, was one he would never forget.  
  
  
*****  
  
(Prompt: # 105 Day)  
  
Neal thought he'd be acquitted, and in fact he had managed to avoid conviction for most of his crimes. The only crime Peter managed to pin on him was the fake bonds he'd made. But even that was too much.  
  
It was only when the judge read out his sentence that Neal realized he wasn't slipping out of this one.  
  
Four years. Forty-eight months. 1461 days.  
  
However Neal tried to look at it, the days stretched out before him.  
  
He got into the habit to mark off on his wall every day that passed. Slowly, his wall filled up.  
  
  
*****  
  
(Prompt: # 124 Social)  
  
Neal was a social creature. He thrived on human contact, on being able to interact, to read people and to respond in kind.  
  
His crime wasn't even that serious, but the judge had agreed with the Justice Department that Neal was a flight risk, and had sentenced him to a supermax. Neal spent most of his time in his cell. Alone with his thoughts.  
  
There was a lot of think about. He thought about Kate and whether she would be waiting for him when he came out. He thought about his life and whether he'd ever get back to it.  
  
  
*****  
  
(Prompt: # 139 Ordinary)  
  
Outside, in the real world, Neal was always the center of attention. But in prison, he turned into an ordinary guy. He was stuck in a cell, surrounded by murderers and rapists who probably wouldn't think twice about killing him. His main goal was to stay off the radar. Keep his head down, keep out of trouble and make sure he stayed on the right side of the guards and the other prisoners.  
  
That last one actually turned out to be quite easy. Prisoners and guards were as con-able as any other person, and Neal was the master con.  
  
  
*****  
  
(Prompt: # 180 Dress)  
  
Then there was the prison uniform. Neal had grown used to custom-made suits, handmade shirts and Italian leather shoes. Now his dress options were reduced to a bright orange outfit with white sneakers. The entire ensemble was chosen mostly for its inexpensive price and effect on the taxpayer's budget. The powers that be definitely didn't have the prisoner's comfort in mind.  
  
It wasn't so much the hideous color that bothered Neal. There was barely anybody to see him anyway. But the fabric was harsh against his skin, and itchy.  
  
As with everything else, he got used to that too.  
  
  
*****  
  
(Prompt: # 055 Drip )  
  
The faucet in Neal's cell dripped. He would lie in his bed at night, listening to it, unable to fall asleep.  
  
Drip.  
  
Drip.  
  
Drip.  
  
It drove him crazy.  
  
Drip-drip.  
  
Drip-drip.  
  
Drip-drip-drip-drip-drip-drip-drip-drip-drip-drip-drip-drip-drip-drip-drip-drip-drip-drip-drip-drip-drip-drip-drip-drip-drip-drip-drip-drip-drip-drip-drip-drip-drip-drip-drip-drip-drip-drip-drip-drip-drip-drip-drip-drip-drip-drip-drip-drip-drip-drip-drip-drip-drip-drip-drip-drip-drip-drip-drip-drip-drip-drip-  
  
[Ahem. Should we try that again?]  
  
  
*****  
  
(Prompt: # 055 Drip)  
  
The faucet in Neal's cell dripped. At first he asked for it to be fixed. Time being of no consequence in prison, it took a while until somebody showed up to fix it. For a few days, Neal could sleep in relative silence (not including the 'regular' prison night sounds). But then it started up again.  
  
Drip.  
  
Drip.  
  
Drip.  
  
Neal threw his pillow over his face. It helped a bit and gave him a break from the constant drip-drip. Of course, it also made breathing quite difficult. One thing Neal learned in prison was that you can't have everything.  
  
  
*****  
  
(Prompt: # 121 Write)  
  
Neal spent a lot of time writing letters to Kate. He'd write and write, filling up pages as he told her about about his new life, and how much he missed her and loved her. And then he'd tear it all up into little pieces, because he couldn't bear the thought of her knowing how far he'd fallen.  
  
He was Neal Caffrey. The man who could land on his feet no matter what.  
  
So he'd start writing again - about everything that didn't matter. Because that was the only way he was going to make it through four years of this.  
  
  
*****  
  
(Prompt: # 159 Forest)  
  
Neal was an artist at heart, he couldn't leave his walls bare.  
  
He most loved to sketch the Raphael piece he had stolen. It featured Saint George on his horse, killing a dragon by the forest. He'd spent hours sketching those little trees. It reminded him of Kate. It was her favorite, and he'd always thought it was that painting that got them together.  
  
He could have drawn Kate - he wanted so much to see her again - but he didn't want her picture up on the wall, where guards might leer and make comments.  
  
So he drew little trees instead.  
  
  
*****  
  
(Prompt: # 015 Clay)  
  
He had already been in prison a few months when he got a package.  
  
"Caffrey!" The prisoner in charge of mail delivery stopped by his cell. The package he took out had been wrapped in brown packing paper, but had been opened by the prison authorities to make sure it didn't contain contraband. "It's your birthday or something?"  
  
"Yeah. Something."  
  
The only person who ever sent Neal letters was Kate, but as he turned the package over, he realized this one didn't come from Kate. It came from Mozzie, or rather, one of his aliases.  
  
Inside was a clay doll.  
  
  
*****  
  
(Prompt: # 187 Repulse)  
  
The doll was a repulsive thing. The type that could feature in a horror movie, haunting your dreams, with wide-open eyes and outstretched arms. Not Mozzie's type of art at all, it probably sold well as a tourist trinket somewhere.  
  
Neal examined it from all directions, unsure what Mozzie wanted him to do with it. Was this a message? Or some sort of shaman doll that will protect him from harm? Neal didn't know.  
  
He finally put it on the little desk in his cell.  
  
For a few days it sat there. A silent companion watching Neal's every move.  
  
  
*****  
  
(Prompt: # 044 Secret)  
  
One long afternoon, Neal lay on his bed, watching that doll watching him back, when it occurred to him that Mozzie might have hidden something  _inside_.  
  
He wrapped it up in a towel, and smashed it against the wall. He did so as carefully as he could, both because he didn't want anybody coming to check what he was doing, and because he had no idea what was inside, if at all.  
  
Among the shards he found a little square of tightly folded paper. He opened it up, only to discover Mozzie had sent him a blank piece of paper.  
  
  
*****  
  
(Prompt: # 017 Ink)  
  
Neal turned the paper over several times, just to make sure, but there was nothing on it. What was Mozzie trying to tell him?  
  
Whatever it was, Neal was sure that Mozzie hadn't gone to all this trouble just to send him a blank piece of paper. He had written  _something_.  
  
Invisible ink comes in many forms. Neal didn't have a chemical lab at his disposal, so he did the only thing he could do. He held the paper up close to the light bulb hanging in his cell.  
  
Ever so slowly, marks started appearing, solidifying into lines of script.  
  
  
*****  
  
(Prompt: # 143 Extreme)  
  
Of course, that was only the first step. Because 'simple' did not exist in Mozzie's dictionary. Mozzie did things in extremes.  
  
The message was encrypted.  
  
Neal spent days trying to decipher the code. First he tried the code he'd been using with Kate, but there was nothing there. Then shift ciphers and transposition ciphers. Nothing.  
  
He was allowed to loan a book at a time from the prison library, and so it took him another few weeks before he discovered Mozzie had used "The Man In The Iron Mask" as his 'one time pad' to encrypt this top-secret message.  
  
  
  
*****  
  
(Prompt: # 147 Wisdom)  
  
For all the effort it had taken Neal to figure the message out, it was quite a letdown. He had hoped for words of wisdom that would guide him through tough times, if not a map for escape.  
  
But no.  
  
Mozzie's message was a rant about not being stupid. But it was his last sentence that made it worthwhile. "I should be in jail, not you, kid. P.S. Will send list of guards on payroll."  
  
That had been ages ago. And now Mozzie was looking at serious jail time.  
  
Neal hoped Mozzie would find a way out of this mess.


	8. A Not-So-Easy Interrogation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompts: 008 Interrogation, 166 Fly, 184 Priority, 111 Scowl, 004 Target, 153 Bitter, 150 Smooth, 078 Soul, 169 Erase, 194 Luck, 152 Sour

(Prompt: # 008 Interrogation)  
  
For the second time that day, Peter sat down to an interrogation. But unlike earlier, he wasn't looking forward to breaking his suspect. He just wanted to get this over with.  
  
This time he was sitting with Mozzie, alone. He had uncuffed him once they got to the Federal building.  
  
"We've got you with the money, forged diamonds." It was all videotaped too. "I've got enough to put you away for a long, long time. I suggest you cooperate."  
  
Mozzie just blinked at him through his thick-rimmed glasses. "With the Feds? Never."  
  
They stared at each other in silence.  
  
  
*****  
  
(Prompt: # 166 Fly)  
  
Neal was sitting by his desk, where he'd been told to stay while Mozzie was being interrogated.  
  
He wished he could be a fly on the wall in that interrogation room. It was killing him not knowing what was going on.  
  
He glanced round the bullpen, but couldn't see anybody watching him. Finally, he decided to give it a try. Grabbing his mug, he headed for the break room.  
  
Rob, the new probie, intercepted him. "Going somewhere?"  
  
Turned out Peter had left a watchdog.  
  
Neal raised his mug in explanation. It didn't help. He was sent back to his desk.  
  
  
*****  
  
(Prompt: # 184 Priority)  
  
Sitting across from Mozzie, Peter leaned forward. "Look, Mozzie, my priority is the man who made these diamonds, not the fence."  
  
Mozzie didn't respond.  
  
Peter lifted the small bag of diamonds that Mozzie had tried selling in the park. "Who are you protecting? Did Neal forge these?"  
  
Mozzie just shook his head. "You're never going to trust him, are you?"  
  
"So who made these?"  
  
"I'm not talking, Suit. I know my rights."  
  
Peter sighed. "You realize that you could both go to jail for this. Don't you care about Neal?"  
  
He hoped that would get Mozzie to talk. It didn't.  
  
  
*****  
  
(Prompt: # 111 Scowl)  
  
"Neal!" Peter had stepped out of the interrogation room for a few minutes, and now called Neal to his office.  
  
He scowled at Neal when he entered. That patented Peter Burke scowl. "You knew Mozzie was involved, didn't you?"  
  
"I-" Neal had no idea what to say.  
  
Peter shook his head. Annoyed at Neal, at himself. "You should have told me."  
  
"And then what? You'd have arrested Mozzie anyway." Besides, Mozzie might have avoided capture.  
  
"You don't know that." Peter wasn't sure what he would have done, but he wished Neal would have given him the opportunity to find out.  
  
  
*****  
  
(Prompt: # 004 Target)  
  
"Mozzie isn't the guy I'm after," Peter said. "He can still get out of this, if he cooperates." Now came the question he had to ask. "Did you forge the diamonds?"  
  
"I told you-"  
  
Peter didn't have time for any more games. "Answer the question, Neal!"  
  
"No, I didn't."  
  
"Do you know who did?"  
  
Neal shook his head. Not as such.  
  
"Okay." Peter wasn't sure he believed him, but he was willing to go with that. "You're going to go in there, and you're going to get Mozzie to talk." Otherwise both Neal and Mozzie would become the FBI's target.  
  
  
*****  
  
(Prompt: # 153 Bitter)  
  
Mozzie was on his knees, examining one of the air-vents, when Neal stepped into the interrogation room.  
  
"Oh, good, you're here," he said. Getting up, he brushed his pants and pointed up to the ceiling vent. "Help me get up there."  
  
Neal glanced around the room. "Peter is right outside, Moz. And I'm not here to help you escape."  
  
Mozzie blinked at him, realization dawning. "You're playing the good cop."  
  
"That's not-"  
  
"You were in on this operation, weren't you?" Mozzie didn't wait for a reply. "You knew the Suits were on to me. Why didn't you warn me?"  
  
  
*****  
  
(Prompt: # 150 Smooth)  
  
Mozzie crossed his arms over his chest. "I knew I had to watch the Suits. I had no idea I had to be careful from my friends as well."  
  
"Mozzie, I didn't tell the Feds anything." Neal didn't care whether Peter heard him, he already knew. "I wouldn't betray you, you know that."  
  
Mozzie eyed him suspiciously. "All your smooth talking isn't going to work on me, Neal."  
  
"I'm telling you the truth," Neal replied earnestly. "The FBI didn't hear about this from me."  
  
"Then who did they hear it from?"  
  
"Your guy screwed up, okay? He told them everything."  
  
  
*****  
  
(Prompt: # 078 Soul )  
  
There was so much Neal wanted to say to Mozzie, but Peter was right outside, listening. Instead he dropped into an empty seat. "Look, Moz, Peter doesn't want to put you in jail."  
  
"Really?" Mozzie didn't sound convinced.  
  
"Yeah," Neal nodded. "He wants the supplier."  
  
"Of course he does." At Neal's sigh of frustration, Mozzie continued: "I'm not going to sell my soul to the devil."  
  
Neal looked at Mozzie, shocked. "You think that's what I did?"  
  
Realizing he might have overstepped the line, Mozzie just shrugged. "All I'm saying is, you're on an anklet, Neal. That's not for me."  
  
  
*****  
  
(Prompt: # 169 Erase)  
  
Peter stood outside the interrogation room, observing the two friends inside. So far, Neal hadn't had much success getting Mozzie to talk.  
  
Jones approached him, stopping to take a look as well. "How's it going?"  
  
Peter just gave him a look.  
  
"Right."  
  
Peter turned his attention to the ongoing investigation. "What about Mozzie's phones? You dumped them?" They had found two phones on him.  
  
Clinton nodded. "Yeah, but it's all been erased. Call logs, everything."  
  
"Figures." Peter wasn't surprised. It would be like Mozzie to have a contingency plan, to make sure nothing fell into the hands of the FBI.  
  
  
*****  
  
(Prompt: # 194 Luck)  
  
Peter shook his head. This case had started off so promisingly. He'd been sure they would finish up by lunch. No such luck.  
  
He turned to the younger agent. "Get the phones to the lab, they might be able to retrieve whatever he tried to delete."  
  
Clinton nodded. "I'll get right on it."  
  
Peter didn't put much hope in Neal's attempts to get his friend to confess to the FBI. But if they were lucky, they could use Mozzie's phone data to point them to the forger. If he were lucky, it wouldn't lead him back to his own CI.  
  
  
*****  
  
(Prompt: # 152 Sour)  
  
Peter turned back to observe Neal and Mozzie. He had to admit, if only to himself, that Mozzie had grown on him these past few years. He wasn't stupid. He knew the man was a criminal, actively committing crimes, but as long as Mozzie didn't wave the proof in front of his eyes, Peter could pretend he didn't know. So much for that.  
  
Now the agent found himself in a position where he had to interrogate Mozzie, and Neal as well, possibly to get them both to turn on each other. It all left a sour taste in Peter's mouth.


	9. Bearer of Bad News

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompts: 029 Wife, 144 Reason, 085 Hug, 142 Terrible, 174 Shoulders, 134 Bent, 201 Rogue, 148 Soft

(Prompt: # 029 Wife)  
  
No matter how bad his day, Peter knew that when he came home in the evening, to his wife, he could leave his job troubles behind.  
  
But today was different. He steeled himself before he opened the front door. Neal and Mozzie had become part of both their lives.  
  
El was already home. Her face broke into a smile when she saw Peter come in. "Hey, Hon!" But then she paused, when she caught sight of his face. She could see something was wrong. "What happened?"  
  
Peter sighed. "I arrested Mozzie today."  
  
El's jaw dropped. "Oh, no, I'm so sorry."  
  
  
*****  
  
(Prompt: # 144 Reason)  
  
It didn't really make sense. El was the wife of an FBI agent. She shouldn't have cared much, or at all, about the criminal friend of her husband's criminal informant. And yet, there it was. When Peter took Neal on as a CI, he had entered her life as well, and he had brought Mozzie with him.  
  
El and Moz had struck up an unexpected friendship. Despite his quirks and occasional paranoid rants, El enjoyed Mozzie's company.  
  
So El felt bad for Mozzie - it was a shame to hear that he'd been arrested - but she felt even worse for Peter.

  
  
*****  
  
(Prompt: # 085 Hug )  
  
El approached Peter and hugged him close. "Oh, Honey, that must have been horrible."  
  
Peter hadn't realized how much he needed it. He clutched back at her. For a moment, they both stood there, hugging each other. Giving each other strength, drawing strength from each other.  
  
"It was," Peter finally admitted. "I had no idea Mozzie was even involved in this case until he showed up at the takedown."  
  
El pulled back. "And Neal-?"  
  
"Oh, Neal knew, I'm sure of it. But he didn't say a word." Peter just sighed. "He could have warned me. He  _should_  have warned me."  
  
  
*****  
  
(Prompt: # 142 Terrible)  
  
Sitting by the dining room table, Peter buried his head in his hands. "I got closer to solving this case. I shouldn't feel so terrible."  
  
El sat down by him. "It's not easy putting people you know behind bars."  
  
"That's the problem, isn't it?" Peter looked up at her. There was no question at all that Mozzie  _should_  be in jail.  
  
"I met Mozzie yesterday," El said. "We had a lunch. I had no idea-"  
  
"That he's a criminal?" It wasn't fair, and Peter knew it. "I'm sorry, El."  
  
They had both pretended Mozzie was just Neal's completely innocent friend.  
  
  
*****  
  
(Prompt: # 174 Shoulders)  
  
El rubbed Peter's shoulders, feeling the tension in his muscles.  
  
"It won't help you to beat yourself up over it," she told him. "If Mozzie committed a crime and you caught him, then that's it."  
  
She was right, of course, but that didn't help how badly he felt. "What about Neal?"  
  
She glanced at him. "What about him?"  
  
Peter relaxed into his wife's patient hands. It was the concern preying on his mind. "He might also be involved in Mozzie's little scheme. And then I'll have to arrest him too."  
  
El just shook her head. "What else can you do?"  
  
  
*****  
  
(Prompt: # 134 Bent)  
  
There was so much Peter could do. He could drag his feet on the case, until it disappeared. Or even better, he could drop it. Shelve it and say that they hadn't managed to find Mozzie's source for diamonds. If Neal was really the forger here then without Mozzie in the picture, he would probably drop it from his end as well.  
  
But that was the problem. He'd bent the rules for Neal, time and time again. He had allowed him to get away with crimes that he wouldn't have let any other criminal off the street get away with.  
  
  
*****  
  
(Prompt: # 201 Rogue)  
  
Peter sighed. "I thought I could get Neal to go straight. Instead he got me to go rogue."  
  
He shook his head at the thought. Peter had accepted Neal's deal in order to close more cases, but in the process he had paid a price too. He had let Neal pull him into his criminal world.  
  
It started off with turning a blind eye to Neal obtaining evidence illegally. He was a CI, after all. You didn't ask your CI too many questions.  
  
But next thing he knew, Peter was  _allowing_  Neal to steal, and even committed criminal acts himself.  
  
  
*****  
  
(Prompt: # 148 Soft)  
  
So here he was, agonizing over the fact that he might have to send a criminal (possibly two) to jail and going over his options to save them from that fate.  
  
"I've been to soft on them," Peter told El. He had let Neal and Mozzie think they could do whatever they wanted. "That's why we got to this stage."  
  
It had to end. If Mozzie was fencing fake diamonds, he'd end up in jail for it. And if Neal was helping him, then no matter how much Peter felt for the guy, he was going to join Mozzie there.

 


	10. Nightmare

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompts: 117 Insomnia, 116 Dream, 163 Leather, 042 Innocent, 009 Witness, 128 Hatred, 136 Attraction, 099 Burn, 095 Hiss, 093 Scream, 115 Wake, 061 Moon, 096 Sigh

(Prompt: # 117 Insomnia)  
  
Neal could not sleep. For hours he tossed and turned in bed, unable to find a comfortable position. With a blanket, without a blanket, nothing seemed to work. The anklet was heavy on his skin, reminding him (as if he needed a reminder) of all that happened that day.  
  
Every time he closed his eyes, he saw Mozzie's accusing face. It had been eerily quiet that evening, without Mozzie there. No talk of new cons or what was happening out on the street.  
  
Or Peter - who had barely said a word to him since Mozzie's arrest.  
  
Neal tried counting sheep.  
  
  
(Prompt: # 116 Dream)  
  
After what seemed like hours, Neal finally fell asleep...  
  
He was in a courtroom, sitting by the defendant's table.  
  
In the small crowd behind him he spotted Peter and Jones. Peter had that self-satisfied smirk he usually got when he was about to put a criminal away. Not far from them he noticed Sarah. A few reporters were typing away on their laptops in the front row.  
  
He remembered this. It was the first day of his trial.  
  
The bailiff stepped forward. "All rise!" he announced. "This court is now in session. The honorable Judge Berrigan presiding."  
  
Wait... what?!  
  
  
*****  
  
(Prompt: # 163 Leather)  
  
Diana entered from a side-entrance. She was dressed in a leather jacket and tight leather pants.  
  
Neal thought she looked good, but he didn't have much time to enjoy the view. He shot to his feet. "You can't be a judge!"  
  
Diana sat down behind the judge's desk. "Why not?"  
  
"You said you want to shoot me."  
  
Diana pointed with her gavel towards the jury box. Neal now realized the jury were all FBI agents. "We all want to shoot you, Caffrey."  
  
"Shouldn't you be wearing robes?" Neal tried again.  
  
Diana just rolled her eyes. "Sit down, Caffrey."  
  
Great.  
  
  
*****  
  
(Prompt: # 042 Innocent)  
  
Diana glared at Neal over the judge's desk. "Neal Caffrey, you are accused of lying, cheating, stealing..." she glanced down at her papers, "etcetera, etcetera, etcetera and in general of being a disappointment to anybody who knows you. How do you plead?"  
  
Neal gaped at her. "Is this for real?"  
  
Diana banged her gavel. "The defendant pleads guilty."  
  
"Wait! No! I'm innocent. I plead not guilty."  
  
The crowd behind him booed.  
  
"Right. The prosecution may now begin."  
  
Neal looked over at the prosecution table... Where he saw Alex. She met his gaze with a wide grin. "Thank you, Your Honor."  
  
  
*****  
  
(Prompt: # 009 Witness)  
  
"Your Honor!" Neal jumped to his feet. "Uh.. May I approach the bench."  
  
Diana sighed as she considered the request, but finally nodded.  
  
"Diana-" Neal bit his lip. "Your Honor," he corrected, "the prosecutor is a criminal."  
  
Diana looked at him with utter lack of comprehension. "So are you."  
  
"Yes, but-"  
  
Diana just waved him away. "Prosecution, your witness."  
  
Alex got to her feet. "The Prosecution calls Special Agent Peter Burke to the stand."  
  
The bailiff swore Peter in. "Do you swear to tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth?"  
  
Peter looked at Neal meaningfully. "I always do."  
  
  
*****  
  
(Prompt: # 128 Hatred)  
  
Alex walked over to the witness box. "Agent Burke, what can you tell us about Neal Caffrey?"  
  
"Well..." Peter settled back in his seat as he started off his story, "I gave him an opportunity to make something of himself, but all he's done since is scheme behind my back."  
  
Neal got to his feet. "Wait, that's not true. I also helped the-"  
  
The crowd behind him started booing again.  
  
"All you do is lie to me, Neal!" Peter yelled at him. "You lie to me!"  
  
"But I don't! I just..." Neal fell silent. He just didn't tell the truth.  
  
  
*****  
  
(Prompt: # 136 Attraction)  
  
June was on the witness stand. "You can't really blame him. Neal is attracted to crime. He has no choice."  
  
Neal glanced back towards the crowd. Half were snoring softly, the others were all busy playing on their phones.  
  
Alex stood up. "Objection, Your Honor! Too boring."  
  
Diana banged her gavel. "Sustained."  
  
"Your Honor!" Neal got to his feet.  
  
"Overruled!"  
  
"But I didn't say anything yet."  
  
"Lucky for us, isn't it?" Diana glared at him. "Caffrey, sit down. We don't have all day. Some of us have better things to do."  
  
"I sure do," Neal muttered as he sat down.  
  
  
*****  
  
(Prompt: # 099 Burn)  
  
Alex returned to her table. "The prosecution rests, your honor."  
  
Diana banged her gavel and the bailiff stood up. "Will the defendant please rise."  
  
Neal got to his feet, uncertainly.  
  
Diana cleared her throat. "I hereby find the defendant, Neal Caffrey, guilty. Of whatever it was that he was accused of."  
  
"Wait, but-"  
  
Diana banged her gavel again. "Quiet!"  
  
"But don't I get time to present my case?"  
  
"Oh, dear God, no." Diana shuddered at the thought. "Where was I? Oh yes... I hereby sentence the defendant to be burned at the stake."  
  
The crowd erupted into cheers, clapping loudly.  
  
  
*****  
  
(Prompt: # 095 Hiss)  
  
There did not seem to be much room for appeal.  
  
Just like that, the courtroom was cleared away, and a stake appeared, set right smack in front of the judge's bench.  
  
Before he knew it, Neal was tied up to the stake. He tried to object, but nobody really cared to listen.  
  
The FBI team, his friends, set about putting together the firewood. They collected an amazing amount within quiet a short time, taking into account that this was, after all, New York City.  
  
Peter was given the honor of lighting the first match.  
  
The fire hissed. The crowd cheered.  
  
  
*****  
  
(Prompt: # 093 Scream)  
  
The fire crackled. Somebody produced a bellows.  
  
Making quick work of it, the fire soon caught on. The flames danced merrily away, right under Neal's feet. Ever so slowly he felt the heat rise. There was no escape - he was tied quite securely.  
  
The pain was unbearable and Neal screamed in agony, but nobody seemed to care.  
  
Everybody gathered round him, talking and laughing. Several people produced long, sharp sticks on which they poked marshmallows. Somebody turned on the music.  
  
The flames licked higher and higher, making a mess of Neal's suit.  
  
Neal screamed and screamed.  
  
This couldn't be happening.  
  
  
*****  
  
(Prompt: # 115 Wake)  
  
Neal woke up with a yell. His sheet and pillow were drenched in sweat. Breathing heavily, he sat upright, blinking in the darkness. Was he already in hell? He'd always imagined hell to be a dark place, and right now he was willing to take anything, just to get away from that courtroom.  
  
A few moments passed before he realized that no, this wasn't hell. He was in his apartment.  
  
Neal forced himself to breath in deeply, to steady himself. It was all just a dream. A bad dream. The Feds weren't going to kill him. At least, not yet.  
  
  
*****  
  
(Prompt: # 061 Moon )  
  
Throwing off the covers, Neal got out of bed. He couldn't just go back to sleep after a nightmare like that.  
  
In bare feet he padded out to the patio. The cool, night air stroked his skin. He could hear the buzz of the city coming up from all around him: traffic, cars honking, somebody shouting in the distance. Everything was just as it should be.  
  
Neal looked out at the cityscape, all lit up in the darkness. It was backlit by a full moon, shining bright in the night sky . But as Neal watched, a cloud passed over it.  
  
  
*****  
  
(Prompt: # 096 Sigh)  
  
As if he needed a visual allegory for his sad situation.  
  
Peter was upset at him because he hadn't said anything. But what did Peter expect? If he'd warned Peter, the FBI agent would have been obligated to act, even if Mozzie would have managed to escape the FBI trap.  
  
Neal had no idea how to make things right with Peter.  
  
And then there was Mozzie. He couldn't just let his friend go to jail. There must be something he could do.  
  
With a long, drawn-out sigh, Neal turned to go back to bed.  
  
Could things get any worse?


	11. Worser

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompts: 057 Sun, 113 Yawn, 199 Impostor, 045 Whisper, 047 Guess, 131 Play, 018 Check, 097 Explode, 080 Clean, 011 Family, 074 Cold

(Prompt: # 057 Sun)  
  
It seemed like a great day: the sun was shining brightly in an almost clear, blue sky. But, as Neal knew oh-so-well, looks could be deceiving. It had been a difficult night - he barely got any sleep - and it didn't look like his day was going to be any better.  
  
He had his work cut out for him. First, he had to find out what was going on with Mozzie and the case against him. Then, how Peter intended to move forward on this case. After that, he'd have to come up with a plan to free Moz.  
  
  
*****  
  
(Prompt: # 113 Yawn)  
  
Neal stifled as yawn as he entered the White Collar offices.  
  
Clinton and Peter were standing by the door, but when Neal came in, Clinton nudged Peter, who stopped mid-sentence, and just ended with a "let me know if you find anything."  
  
After Jones took his leave, Neal turned to Peter. "Hey."  
  
Peter nodded. "Hey". He considered Neal. "You look tired."  
  
"I didn't sleep well. Listen, about Mozzie..."  
  
Peter held up a hand to stop him. "You really shouldn't be involved in this case, Neal. You're too close."  
  
"I know, but I think I can get him to talk."  
  
  
*****  
  
(Prompt: # 199 Impostor)  
  
Peter looked at Neal, unconvinced. "You didn't have much success with that yesterday."  
  
"I know, but if you let me talk to him, without the Feds listening in, he might be more talkative."  
  
"I don't know..."  
  
"We want to catch the forger, right?"  
  
Neal felt like an impostor. He wanted to help Peter, but when it came down to it - he didn't really care right now whether the FBI got their man (or woman). All he cared about was making sure Mozzie won't end up in jail. Whatever it took.  
  
"Fine," Peter finally relented. "I'll see what I can do."  
  
  
*****  
  
(Prompt: # 045 Whisper)  
  
Neal was looking for a file on the shelves when he overheard two agents having a whispered conversation around the corner.  
  
"I can't believe Caffrey's not involved in this. He knew about those diamonds."  
  
"That's what Peter said... that we're going to keep all avenues of investigation open."  
  
"Yeah, but do you really think he's..." the two moved off, the words becoming indistinct. Neal strained to hear, but nothing. Finally he sneaked a glance around the shelves, only to discover that the two had moved back into the bullpen.  
  
Minutes later, as if nothing happened, Neal returned to his desk.  
  
  
*****  
  
(Prompt: # 047 Guess)  
  
Neal sat back at his desk, and flipped a file open. Pretending to work.  
  
"Keep all avenues of investigation open." It sounded like something Peter would say. But what did it mean? Did Peter really suspect him of forging those diamonds?  
  
That would explain why Peter was reluctant to let him meet Mozzie alone.  
  
Neal glanced up, looking around the bullpen. He had thought he had gained these agents' trust, but all it took was Mozzie getting arrested and they quickly reverted to type. How many of the agents around him thought he was trying to pull one on them?  
  
  
*****  
  
(Prompt: # 131 Play)  
  
Neal smiled at Jones when the latter entered the White Collar offices, but Jones barely spared him a glance. And the one he had to give wasn't a friendly one. Neal sighed to himself.  
  
"Peter," Clinton knocked at his boss' door. "Got a minute?"  
  
Peter automatically shot a glance in Neal's direction. His CI was working hard at looking as though he was working hard. "Yeah, what do you have?"  
  
Clinton held up a file. "Caffrey's been playing us."  
  
"Oh, yeah?" Peter answered as neutrally as he could. Had Jones managed to find a link between Neal and the diamonds?  
  
  
*****  
  
(Prompt: # 018 Check)  
  
"Take a look at this." Clinton laid out several printouts on Peter's desk. "The lab hadn't managed to retrieve Mozzie's deleted data, but I checked with the providers, and they managed to pull out the list of calls."  
  
"We arrested Moore around eight." Clinton pointed out the times on the page. "Caffrey got here about 9:15. Look here."  
  
Peter frowned at the page. Starting at 9:37, Mozzie received several calls from a number Peter recognized. Neal's number. Peter's relief at realizing Jones hadn't found the smoking gun proving Neal was the forger, quickly changed into something else. Anger.  
  
  
*****  
  
(Prompt: # 097 Explode)  
  
Searing, white-hot anger.  
  
In retrospect, it shouldn't have been such a shocking revelation. Neal was Mozzie's friend, after all. But because they had caught Mozzie red-handed, it hadn't occurred to Peter that Neal had done anything to prevent it.  
  
And yet, there it was. Neal had tried calling Mozzie repeatedly once he realized the FBI knew about the exchange.  
  
Mozzie was Neal's friend, but he wasn't Neal's  _only_  friend. In his mind, Peter started reviewing their recent cases. Had Neal helped other criminals evade the FBI? They hadn't caught Alex. Or James. Was that due to Neal's efforts?  
  
  
*****  
  
(Prompt: # 080 Clean )  
  
"NEAL!" Peter shouted across the bullpen, causing heads to turn. "Get up here!"  
  
Peter didn't wait for Neal to get past the door. "You WARNED Mozzie! Don't even try to deny it."  
  
Neal held up a hand to ward off the yelling. "Peter-"  
  
"You  _warned_  a suspect of an upcoming FBI operation."  
  
Okay, when Peter said it  _that_  way it sounded bad even to Neal.  
  
He shot a quick glance at Jones, but realized he was all on his own. He took a deep breath. It was time to come clean. "Yes, I called Mozzie. But I had no choice."  
  
  
*****  
  
(Prompt: # 011 Family)  
  
Peter glared at his CI. "No choice? Really?"  
  
"Look, Moz is family, Peter. I couldn't-"  
  
"Did you also help your father escape? He's family."  
  
It was a low blow, and Peter knew it. He could see it on Neal's face.  
  
"You're a convict on probation," Peter continued. A very tenuous probation. "You don't get to decide which operations you agree with and which you don't."  
  
"You've got to believe me-"  
  
Peter cut him off, "I don't have to believe anything." He turned to Jones. "Take Caffrey home."  
  
Then, back to Neal: "You stay there until I decide what to do."  
  
  
*****  
  
(Prompt: # 074 Cold )  
  
Peter watched as Neal and Jones disappeared inside the elevator.  
  
His anger, hot and raw, was quickly dissipating. Instead he now felt as if a cold hand had gripped his heart.  
  
He knew Neal had his own thing going many times. He had stolen the music box when he was trying to help Kate. He had stolen the sub treasure, and then led Kramer and him on a wild goose chase. But this... this was different.  
  
Peter had to be able to trust Neal to be on their side, against the criminals. If he couldn't, what did their partnership mean?


	12. Family

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompts: 155 City, 156 Country, 120 Sing, 072 Snow, 160 Silk, 179 Prepare, 053 Heat, 032 Chocolate, 114 Sleep, 007 Background, 109 Anniversary

(Prompt: # 155 City)  
  
For the first eighteen years of his life, as far as Neal could recall, he had never left St. Louis. He had never found that confining or felt he was missing out on anything. The city was his life. His family.  
  
That's where he lived with his mother and Ellen. That's where his father had died a hero in the line of duty. He'd always thought that when he'd grow up, he'd join the Metro PD, just like his dad.  
  
But on his 18th birthday Ellen told him the truth about his father, and his world was turned upside down.  
  
*****  
  
(Prompt: # 156 Country)  
  
Neal wasn't looking for a new family when he got to New York. He knew exactly who he was and what he was destined to be. He learned to enjoy the moment, and that life had a lot to offer, if only you reached out to take what you wanted.  
  
He didn't look back. Or at least, he pretended not to.  
  
Until one night, when he and Mozzie were driving out in the country. They were returning from a successful heist. Mozzie had opted to take the least traveled roads, to lower their chances of running into a bored policeman.  
  
*****  
  
(Prompt: # 120 Sing)  
  
"It's ironic," Neal said, looking out the window as the landscape passed them by.  
  
"What is?" Mozzie asked.  
  
Neal hadn't realized he'd spoken aloud. Mozzie and he, they have never discussed their previous lives before. He shrugged. "How easily things could have been different. I almost became a cop. I might have been chasing us right now."  
  
Mozzie glanced at him, then focused back on the road. "But you didn't."  
  
"No, I didn't."  
  
"It's the Sirens' song, Neal. You can't avoid your destiny."  
  
"But I almost did become a cop."  
  
"Really? When was the first time you tried conning somebody?"  
  
  
*****  
  
(Prompt: # 072 Snow )  
  
They had planned to drive straight through to New York, but their plans were waylaid when it started snowing. At first the flakes disappeared under their windshield wipers, but as they continued driving, the snow picked up, turning into a blizzard. The road was getting slippery, and soon disappeared under piles of snow.  
  
Mozzie continued driving as long as he could, but finally he pulled over and turned off the ignition.  
  
Neal moved his attention from the window. "What are you doing?"  
  
"We can't stay in the car. We'll need to find a better place to ride this one out."

  
  
*****  
  
(Prompt: # 160 Silk)  
  
Mozzie shrugged into a coat. "I think I saw a farmhouse a mile back."  
  
"You  _think_?"  
  
Mozzie thought that one over. "Pretty sure."  
  
"Great." Neal looked out the window at the freezing white outside.  
  
He wasn't dressed for a night out in the snow. Back in those days he had just discovered the good life, and he was enjoying every minute of it. He was wearing a silk dress shirt and a sports jacket. He started shivering the minute Mozzie turned off the engine. "Seriously? I'm going to freeze to death outside."  
  
Mozzie smiled at him. "Luckily, I came prepared."

  
  
*****  
  
(Prompt: # 179 Prepare)  
  
Neal blinked at Mozzie. "Prepared?"  
  
Mozzie raised a finger in elucidation. "As they say, 'hope for the best, prepare for the worst'."  
  
Neal didn't think Mozzie was very good at 'hoping for the best', but luckily for everyone involved, it turned out he was much better at the 'prepared for the worst' part.  
  
"Here," Mozzie said, as he pulled out a package from under his seat. "Try this."  
  
It turned out to be a warm, wool sweater.  
  
While Neal put it on, Mozzie continued pulling out more supplies.  
  
Neal craned his neck to look. "What else have you got there?"

  
  
*****  
  
(Prompt: # 053 Heat)  
  
Mozzie had enough supplies for a hike in the snow, with warm clothing, mittens and even snowshoes.  
  
After close to an hour of trudging in the snow - when Neal was about to tell Mozzie (for the 27th time) that they were most probably hopelessly lost and should probably be heading back - they arrived at a little farmhouse.  
  
They first tried knocking, and when nobody answered, Neal took off his mittens just long enough to break in. The place was completely empty.  
  
Neal surveyed the entrance area. "Now what?"  
  
Mozzie shut the door behind them. "Now we get a fire going."

  
  
*****  
  
(Prompt: # 032 Chocolate)  
  
It was easier said than done, as the fireplace was empty. But, after braving the snow again, they found a pile of firewood outside. Soon they got a nice fire going.  
  
Mozzie meanwhile rummaged in the cupboards. Most were empty, but out of one he pulled out a bottle.  
  
"What's that?" Neal asked.  
  
Mozzie uncorked it and breathed in deeply, sighing in contentment. "Chocolate."  
  
"Chocolate?"  
  
"Liquor. It will keep us warm."  
  
"Right."  
  
Mozzie produced two small glasses, and topped them both with the dark liquid. He handed one to Neal. "Here you go. Isn't this better than a St. Bernard?"

  
  
*****  
  
(Prompt: # 114 Sleep)  
  
Mozzie had produced a blanket, and they both bedded down by the fireplace.  
  
Neal had a hard time falling asleep. He was a city boy. He was more comfortable looking at the blinking lights of the urban landscape than the darkness that engulfed them. It was too quiet outside.  
  
"Hey, Moz."  
  
Mozzie was just nodding off. "Yeah."  
  
"Are you sure there aren't any bears around?"  
  
Mozzie yawned, and pulled the blanket closer around him. "I'm sure they're all hibernating."  
  
Well, that was a comforting thought. Neal looked at the fire, which seemed to be burning out. "What about mountain lions?"

  
  
*****  
  
(Prompt: # 007 Background)  
  
"Moz," Neal asked, after a long silence, "How did you get into the life?"  
  
"I told you," Mozzie answered, "It's the Sirens' song, it can't be avoided."  
  
"You knew since you were a kid?"  
  
Neal had always thought he'd had a tough childhood, having to learn to manage on his own with a mother who preferred living in the past. But that night, he discovered he wasn't alone.  
  
Mozzie told Neal of his days in Detroit. He told him of Mr. Jeffries, of the group home where he had spent his childhood, and of his exploits against the local Mafia.

  
  
*****  
  
(Prompt: # 109 Anniversary)  
  
The fire was throwing long shadows around them when Neal told Mozzie about Ellen, and the truth she had hidden from him for eighteen years. Until his birthday.  
  
"I don't have a birthday," Mozzie said.  
  
"But you were born, right?" At that moment Neal would have believed it if Mozzie would have denied it.  
  
"I celebrate my 'Day I Was Found' anniversary."  
  
It was the day Mozzie found the people who cared about him, who were there when he needed them.  
  
And Neal thought that day when Mozzie met him in the park was his own 'Day I Was Found'.


	13. Going Home

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompts: 164 Drive, 058 Clouds, 190 Mad, 119 Act, 172 Damage, 010 Home

  
  
(Prompt: # 164 Drive)  
  
The drive back to Neal's place was a quiet one. Quiet enough to hear a pin drop. Jones looked straight ahead, focused on his driving, and didn't say a word to Neal. Just like he hadn't said a word to him in Peter's office, or in the elevator, or later, as they walked to Jones' car.  
  
From the beginning, Neal had pegged Jones as the problematic agent in the office. The one who'd be harder to deal with. He was one of Peter's top agents, and he wasn't one to play around. No stepping into gray areas for Agent Jones.

  
*****  
  
(Prompt: # 058 Clouds )  
  
Neal didn't mind the silence so much. He had a lot to think about.  
  
He wondered how Mozzie was doing. Mozzie always had contingency plans, and contingency plans for his contingency plans, and contingency plans for his contingency contingency plans etc. They've never discussed it, but Moz must have considered the possibility that he'd be arrested at some point. What was he planning now? Was he counting on Neal to know what to do?  
  
Neal looked out the passenger-side window. Dark storm clouds were rolling in. This city was constantly providing him with visual allegories for his sad situation.

  
*****  
  
(Prompt: # 190 Mad)  
  
Jones slowed down as he approached June's mansion, then stopped by the curb. He glanced at Neal.  
  
Neal cleared his throat. "Thanks for the ride."  
  
"Don't mention it," Clinton muttered in reply.  
  
Neal, about to open the door, paused. "Look, I realize you're mad at me, but nothing happened."  
  
Clinton frowned at him. "You betrayed us, Caffrey. You called a suspect-"  
  
"Which you arrested anyway," Neal added.  
  
"No thanks to you."  
  
Neal sighed.  
  
Clinton shook his head. "Did you really think we wouldn't find out?"  
  
Neal gave a quick smile. "There had been a small hope."  
  
Clinton rolled his eyes.

  
  
*****  
  
(Prompt: # 119 Act)  
  
Neal had a lot of experience acting. After all, the con was all about pretending you were somebody else. He had been an admiral once, and a prince too. Quite good one at that.  
  
As he got out of the car and shut the door behind him, Neal thought that playing the part of the unconcerned CI should be pretty easy.  
  
But his act lasted only until Agent Jones and his car disappeared around the corner. At which point he turned to give June's stairs a swift kick. A regrettable step. Turned out Italian leather wasn't the best foot protection.

  
*****  
  
(Prompt: # 172 Damage)  
  
Peter was upset at him, the rest of the White Collar team were upset at him. Neal wondered if there was anything he could do to undo the damage.  
  
If these were normal times, he would sit down with Mozzie and over a glass of wine they'd come up with a completely insane but ultimately successful plan. But these were not normal times. Mozzie was in jail, and he was now sentenced to house arrest until further notice.  
  
How could he make things right if Peter didn't want to listen to what he had to say? He had no idea.

  
*****  
  
(Prompt: # 010 Home)  
  
Unlocking the door to his apartment, Neal stood at the entrance for a long, long moment. This was his home. His one and only little place in this great city where he could just be himself. Though now he wasn't sure how much longer it would remain his home.  
  
Peter could throw him back into jail. Right now the FBI agent seemed so upset that he might actually do so. Given the circumstances, Neal wasn't sure it was such a bad idea. If Peter wanted him to betray his friends, then maybe he'd made a big mistake signing that deal.


	14. Good Times

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompts: 049 Tie, 161 Satin, 123 Party, 170 Stain, 171 Wash, 028 Lovers, 126 Entertainment, 103 Flower, 084 Kiss, 024 Silver, 069 Crawl, 037 Bone, 181 Celebrate

(Prompt: # 049 Tie )  
  
Entering his apartment, Neal approached the full-length mirror next to his bed. He contemplated his reflection for a long moment. He was still wearing the suit he had worn to work that morning. One of Byron's finest suits.  
  
His hand reached for his tie, starting to undo the knot.  
  
Looking at his reflection, so serious and somber, he thought back to his previous life.  
  
Life was so simple back when he was a criminal. He could do whatever he pleased. He didn't have to think about Peter and his expectations, he didn't have to try and play both sides...  
  
  
*****  
  
(Prompt: # 161 Satin)  
  
Neal stood in front of the full-length mirror, admiring his reflection. Wearing a new suit, he looked good and he knew it. More importantly, he looked every bit like the young socialite he was trying to pass off as.  
  
With a grin at his other self, he adjusted his tie. It was a satin tie, a bright and cheerful thing. As bright and cheerful as he felt today.  
  
Today, if everything worked out, he and Mozzie would see the payoff for weeks of hard work. He grinned at his reflection one more time and allowed himself to pre-gloat.  
  
  
*****  
  
(Prompt: # 123 Party)  
  
Their mark was the heiress of a cookie magnate. The man had worked his way up from nothing to form a chocolate-chip cookie empire. When he passed away he left his daughter such a large fortune, that even with her incredible efforts at spending it all, she was still left with millions. A small fortune.  
  
She wouldn't even notice if Neal and Mozzie helped themselves to some of it.  
  
Neal had been worming his way into her circle of friends. It had taken him a few weeks, but he'd finally been invited to one of her famous, extravagant parties.  
  
*****  
  
(Prompt: # 170 Stain)  
  
Mozzie came into the room, a question on his lips, but that soon died down when he caught sight of Neal. The man and the mirror. He never could understand the man. How long did it take to put on a suit?  
  
He crossed his arms over his chest. "Are you ready?"  
  
Neal, suddenly aware he wasn't alone, gave his tie one last tug, then turned to Mozzie. "Ready as I'll ever-" he cut off. "Your tie is stained."  
  
Mozzie glanced down at his own suit, and brushed away the offending spot. It didn't move. "Doesn't matter, can we go?"  
  
  
*****  
  
(Prompt: # 171 Wash)  
  
"Of course it matters." Neal crossed the room to where Mozzie was standing, giving his tie a critical look. "We can't go like that."  
  
Mozzie took a step back from Neal and his critical looks. " _We_  can't, but  _I_  can. I'm just the help, remember?"  
  
Neal shook his head. "You don't want anybody sending you to change your tie in the middle of the job, do you?".  
  
Mozzie glared at him for a minute, but then relented. "Fine," he said, "but nobody's going to pay any attention to me." He took off his tie. "That's the whole idea, isn't it?"  
  
  
*****  
  
(Prompt: # 028 Lovers)  
  
Their main problem was the girl's lover boy. The guy was a brute. His biceps so big that Neal could wrap his arms around them.  
  
"He's after her money," Moz sniffed when he told Neal about the score.  
  
"So are we," Neal oh-so-reasonably pointed out.  
  
"Yes, but he's got no style."  
  
For whatever reason, she liked keeping the guy around - part lover, part bodyguard - and he made sure nobody else got close to his money pot. It would be up to Mozzie, posing as one of the hired help for the party, to clear the way for Neal.  
  
  
*****  
  
(Prompt: # 126 Entertainment)  
  
The mansion was hopping when Neal arrived. He grabbed a glass of champagne off a passing tray as he stood and surveyed the scene. The place was full of young, rich people who had no idea what to do with all their money. Neal was just there to help.  
  
He spotted Mozzie entering. "Will the owner of a silver Jaguar," Moz rattled off the license plate, "come outside? There's been an accident."  
  
The brute yelped "Hey! That's my car!" and immediately ran out.  
  
A wave of whispers washed the room. These people were bored and appreciated any type of entertainment.  
  
  
*****  
  
(Prompt: # 103 Flower)  
  
With the brute out of the way, Neal grabbed an orchid from one of the flower displays and approached the heiress. "Can I have this dance?"  
  
She giggled and scanned him from head to toe, obviously liking what she saw. "Sure."  
  
Neal offered her his arm, which she gladly took, and led her towards the dance floor.  
  
The key to her bedroom safe was hanging on a necklace round her neck. As they danced, Neal undid the clasp and ever so carefully pulled it straight off her neck. She didn't feel a thing.  
  
Moz passed by unobtrusively for the handoff.  
  
  
*****  
  
(Prompt: # 084 Kiss )  
  
As the dance ended, the girl laughed, drawing Neal in for a long kiss. He was more than happy to oblige.  
  
When she pulled away, she smiled at him and then ran her finger down his shirt. "How about we go upstairs?"  
  
Upstairs. As in, the place where Mozzie was now breaking into her safe. That would be awkward.  
  
Neal thought fast. "I've always been partial to the kitchen," he whispered in reply.  
  
And that is how Neal found himself in the kitchen, where the girl he was in the process of robbing proceeded to practically tear off his clothes.  
  
  
*****  
  
(Prompt: # 024 Silver)  
  
Mozzie whistled innocently as he mounted the sweeping staircase up to the second floor. But nobody spared him a second glance. Or a first one, for that matter. He was just the butler, after all.  
  
Once he found the girl's bedroom, he had no trouble opening the safe. There were piles of savings bonds in there, left for the poor woman in order to ensure her education, but used in practice to ensure her social status in life.  
  
Mozzie ignored them, instead going for the ancient silver. There was a lot of it, and Mozzie filled up a whole bag.  
  
  
*****  
  
(Prompt: # 069 Crawl)  
  
Nobody pays attention to the butler. But if he's carrying a heavy bag over his shoulder, he might draw a few stares. So Mozzie exited through the air ducts.  
  
He crawled through them, and after a few wrong turns, and a zigzaggy path throughout the mansion's underbelly, managed to make his way outside.  
  
He kicked the external panel out with his feet, then struggled out. He was home free. Now he just had to wait for Neal to extricate himself from the clutches of the beautiful owner of the house.  
  
Knowing his partner, he expected it to take a while.  
  
  
*****  
  
  
(Prompt: # 037 Bone)  
  
As it happened, it took less time then expected. Because the brute came back to discover Neal with his girlfriend.  
  
"Hey! What do you think you're doing?" he thundered.  
  
As Neal tried to think of a reply, the brute took a few more menacing steps towards Neal. "You touch my girl?"  
  
"Look," Neal hurriedly started buttoning his shirt. "I didn't mean anything."  
  
"I'm gonna break every bone in your body."  
  
Neal could believe it. "Okay, okay." He raised his hands in a gesture aimed at calming down the other man. He wasn't sure how helpful it was. "I'm going. See?"  
  
  
*****  
  
(Prompt: # 181 Celebrate)  
  
Later, much later, back at home, Neal and Moz celebrated their big score over a bottle of wine.  
  
It was a well-executed heist, a job well done, and Neal had managed to get out of it in one piece. It never occurred to Neal to wonder if anybody suffered as a result of it. He could imagine Peter checking out the crime scene later, tsk-tsking at the rash young man who though he owned the world and everything in it.  
  
Neal finished taking off his tie, then shrugged out of his jacket. Life was indeed simpler back then.


	15. Loyalty

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompts: 060 Earth, 200 Loyal, 182 Progress, 145 Smart, 149 Rough, 189 Influence, 195 Spell, 077 Heart, 135 Inclination

(Prompt: # 060 Earth )  
  
It was late. Everybody had gone home at the White Collar department. Except for Peter. He was sitting in his office, spinning around a baseball in his hand as he considered the situation.  
  
He had opened up Neal's tracking data on his computer screen, and even now, he glanced over at it every few minutes, ensuring his CI was still where he'd told him to be - at home. It seemed Neal knew what was good for him, because he obeyed orders this time around.  
  
Peter sighed, deeply. The earth was shaking under his feet. He didn't know what to think.  
  
  
*****  
  
(Prompt: # 200 Loyal)  
  
"Boss." Diana knocked on the door. "Got a minute?"  
  
Peter looked up, with slight surprise. "You're still here? Go home."  
  
Diana chuckled at that. "I could say the same."  
  
"Yeah, well-" Peter scratched the back of his neck.  
  
"You've got Caffrey on your mind."  
  
Peter nodded. "Yeah. I just... I don't know what to do. I want to know that Neal's loyal."  
  
Diana leaned against the door frame. "Look, I'm the last person to say Caffrey's perfect. But he  _is_  loyal." She paused for a moment before she added, "To his friends."  
  
Peter grimaced. "That's exactly the problem, isn't it?"  
  
  
*****  
  
(Prompt: # 182 Progress)  
  
Peter looked at Diana, tossing the baseball onto his desk.  
  
"I thought we've been making progress," he continued, "that Neal was learning the difference between right and wrong. But now I see I was just fooling myself. Now we're back to square one. As far as Neal is concerned, he prefers his life of crime."  
  
"He didn't say that," Diana answered.  
  
Peter shook his head. "He knew about those diamonds, he knew Mozzie was involved and didn't say a word."  
  
"You could say that, or you could say that he knew about the diamonds, but didn't join in with Mozzie."  
  
  
*****  
  
(Prompt: # 145 Smart)  
  
Peter looked with surprise at his junior agent. "We don't know that. As I said, all options are open, and as far as I'm concerned, Neal is still a suspect."  
  
"If you really suspected him, you wouldn't have put him under house arrest," Diana pointed out. "You would have let him run loose until he implicated himself."  
  
Peter knew she had a point. He shook his head, returning back to the topic at hand. "Neal should be smarter than this. He should have come to me, and talked to me."  
  
"We're talking about Caffrey," Diana reminded him gently.  
  
"Yeah, so?"  
  
  
*****  
  
(Prompt: # 149 Rough)  
  
"You're being too rough on Caffrey," Diana said. "I mean, did you really expect him to help you arrest Mozzie?"  
  
Peter set his jaw. "Yes."  
  
"Really?" Diana raised an eyebrow.  
  
Peter just shrugged. "At the least, I expected him not to warn a suspect-"  
  
"But we're not talking about a 'suspect'," Diana replied. "This is Mozzie we're talking about. This isn't about choosing crime over justice, it's about choosing friendship."  
  
"The wrong friendship," Peter muttered under his breath.  
  
"Besides, didn't you do the same for Caffrey?"  
  
"Do what?" Peter frowned at Diana.  
  
She smiled softly. "Help him not get arrested."  
  
  
*****  
  
(Prompt: # 189 Influence)  
  
"I'm just trying to get him on the right path," Peter countered. "If Neal does wrong, then he should pay the price. What happened with Kramer, I couldn't let him use Neal like that."  
  
"But it wasn't only Kramer," Diana replied. "I'm not blind. No matter how you explained it away in the reports, you've helped Caffrey many times. I've done it too."  
  
"Still," Peter added after a moment's silence. "We're not criminals. If I turn a blind eye to Neal's exploits, that's because I want to help him. Mozzie, on the other hand, is a bad influence on him."  
  
  
*****  
  
(Prompt: # 195 Spell)  
  
Peter sighed. "Mozzie's got Neal under his spell or something. Nothing I do seems to help."  
  
Diana crossed her arms over her chest. "You could have forbidden him to meet with Mozzie."  
  
Peter looked up sharply at her.  
  
Diana shrugged. "You could have. You preferred not to."  
  
Petr laughed lightly. "I told him not to go after Kate, that didn't help me. She had him under a spell too."  
  
Diana eyed her boss for a moment. "Under what name did you book him?"  
  
"Mozzie?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
Peter cleared his throat. "John Doe." He shrugged sheepishly. "Maybe I'm under his spell too."  
  
  
*****  
  
(Prompt: # 077 Heart )  
  
Diana shrugged. "As much as Caffrey runs behind our backs-"  
  
"And commits crimes," Peter added, half to himself.  
  
"-is way annoying for his own good-" Diana continued.  
  
"And commits crimes."  
  
"-and as much as a few times I was really close to shooting him. Caffrey's got his heart in the right place," Diana ended.  
  
Peter smiled. "Having your heart in the right place is not good enough. He needs to know to do the right thing too."  
  
Diana tilted her head at Peter. "The right thing being to stand by while Mozzie gets arrested?"  
  
Peter looked at Diana, and sighed.  
  
  
*****  
  
(Prompt: # 135 Inclination)  
  
"As much as I want to trust him," Peter said, "Neal's inclination is not always to do the right thing."  
  
"His inclination is to protect his friends," Diana responded. "Look, as an FBI agent, I'm not happy with the fact that he still sees crime as an option. But when I'm out there with him undercover - I know he's got my back. That's worth something too, right?"  
  
Peter mulled that one over, but before he could respond, Diana straightened up. "Look, it's late. Go home, Boss."  
  
Peter threw her a mock salute.  
  
Now he had too much to think about.


	16. Trust

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompts: 059 Stars, 185 Drift, 048 Tale, 075 Gift, 035 Tea, 082 Spoil, 154 Tart, 031 Boyfriend, 202 Elegant, 188 Magnetic, 108 Year, 022 Savings, 087 Touch, 094 Cry, 023 Gold

  
(Prompt: # 059 Stars )  
  
It was a sad fact for romantics (and astronomers), but New York was not the best city for stargazing.  
  
Neal stood outside on his patio, long after darkness fell, leaning against the railing and looking out over the city. The lights of the city - those same lights that he usually loved so much - easily overpowered the tiny pinpoints of light in the heavens above. Still, he could catch a glimpse every now and then of a little star, trying its best (and succeeding) to make its way through.  
  
A little star, all by its lonesome self, daring to show off.  
  
  
*****  
  
(Prompt: # 185 Drift)  
  
Neal felt adrift. He had spent the day pottering about his apartment.  
  
He usually grumbled that he didn't have any time for himself, but now that he did - he had no idea what to do with it. He didn't have much appetite for food. He had tried painting, but brush in hand, facing an empty canvas, he quickly discovered he wasn't in the mood. He couldn't get into the zone.  
  
With Mozzie in jail and Peter upset at him, what else did he have to anchor him here? He wondered if he should cut all ties and just run away.  
  
  
*****  
  
(Prompt: # 048 Tale)  
  
A knock on the door interrupted his train of thought. For a moment, he thought it might be Peter, coming to apologize. But before he could get to the door, June entered, her hands full with a laden tray. "Neal?" she paused for a moment at the entrance before she spotted him.  
  
Neal quickly closed the distance between them, taking the tray with a "here, let me help you with that."  
  
"I heard you could use some company."  
  
"Where did you hear that?" Neal was already on the defensive. Did Peter call to warn her? What did he tell her?  
  
  
*****  
  
(Prompt: # 075 Gift )  
  
"Elizabeth called. She was invited to our book club tonight... " June put a hand on Neal's arm. "I didn't realize Mozzie's been arrested."  
  
Neal had forgotten to tell her. Or more precisely, he didn't feel like informing everybody. "I'm sorry."  
  
"Don't be," she answered back as she started setting out the food she had carried up on Neal's kitchen table.  
  
He watched her for a moment. "Really, June, there's no need."  
  
She just smiled at him. His attempt at putting up a brave front didn't fool her. Besides, she figured that more than the company, Neal could use the distraction.  
  
  
*****  
  
(Prompt: # 035 Tea)  
  
"Come, sit down." June half-offered, half-commanded.  
  
Neal pulled out a chair to join her.  
  
Reaching for the teapot, June poured them both tea, then pushed the sugar bowl over to Neal.  
  
She waited till he had a steaming mug in his hands before she asked, "What happened?"  
  
And Neal told her, relieved to finally be able to tell  _someone_  who would understand. He told her about the fake diamonds, about Mozzie, about Diana and the FBI and how they had managed to arrest Mozzie, despite his best efforts, and how Peter was now upset at him for it.  
  
  
*****  
  
(Prompt: # 082 Spoil )  
  
"I'm afraid I may have spoiled my relationship with Peter," Neal confided in his landlady.  
  
June put her teacup down. "By warning Mozzie?"  
  
Neal nodded, thinking of that last conversation he had with the FBI agent. "He was very upset."  
  
"He'll come around," June said, decisively.  
  
Neal wished that was true. This definitely counted as one of the top crises in their relationship. "I don't think so."  
  
"Neal." June leaned forward, with a small smile, as if sharing a secret. "Peter may be your handler, but it's a two-way street. You need to know how to handle him too."  
  
  
*****  
  
(Prompt: # 154 Tart)  
  
Neal looked at June with some surprise. "You want me to handle Peter?"  
  
She just smiled, and instead of answering, placed a slice of pie on Neal's plate. "Here, try out the pie."  
  
Neal lifted a fork, but didn't bite down yet. "How am I supposed to do that?"  
  
June lifted an eyebrow. "Don't tell me you haven't been doing that from Day One."  
  
Neal shrugged, all innocence.  
  
"You knew how to get him to take your deal."  
  
"He almost didn't."  
  
"Oh," June said, "but in the end he did."  
  
Neal chewed thoughtfully. It was an apple tart, Byron's favorite.  
  
  
*****  
  
(Prompt: # 031 Boyfriend)  
  
Neal knew that many things he did reminded June of Byron, but his landlady didn't usually speak of her late husband. Now, watching him polish down his piece of pie, it brought back the memories.  
  
"Things have a way of working out, Neal," she said, "even when they seem darkest. Did I ever tell you? Byron was my first boyfriend. The first time I met him, I knew he was the one."  
  
Neal knew the feeling. Kate wasn't the first, but when he saw her, he knew. Though things didn't end so well for him.  
  
He met June's understanding eyes.  
  
  
*****  
  
(Prompt: # 202 Elegant)  
  
June closed her eyes for a moment, letting the memories surround her. "My mother warned me he was a troublemaker. Stay away, she told me. But I wouldn't have, even if I could. He was so elegant. He would wear these fashionable suits." Neal had changed to more comfortable wear, but June didn't need to introduce him to Byron's vintage suits. It was thanks to them that he was here.  
  
"We would go out, and everybody would just stare at us. Oh," she chuckled at the memory, "I remember the looks we drew. And Byron just basked in it all."  
  
  
*****  
  
(Prompt: # 188 Magnetic)  
  
"Byron had a magnetic quality about him. Everybody loved him, and just wanted to be around him. He was always surrounded by so many friends. Though," June sighed, "that didn't really help him in the end."  
  
"He got caught," Neal supplied.  
  
"Yes," June agreed. "At first I thought it was the end of the world. The police were all over the place," she looked around, the pictures alive in her memory, "Right here. They had their guns out, and they took him away in cuffs. I couldn't believe it. I refused to believe it was happening."  
  
Neal could understand her.  
  
  
*****  
  
(Prompt: # 108 Year)  
  
"But I couldn't change reality. It was Byron's first felony, his first conviction, and I was very pregnant. Byron showed up in court and made such a good impression on everybody that the judge agreed to go easy on us."  
  
June paused for a moment to collect her thoughts. "He sentenced Byron to a year in jail. And though I was so relieved at first - I had really feared the worst - a year can be a very, very long time."  
  
Neal nodded.  
  
"Byron wasn't there when his daughter was born, he missed her first steps. Nothing could bring that back."  
  
  
*****  
  
(Prompt: # 022 Savings)  
  
"I didn't lack for anything," June continued. "Byron thought ahead, and all those years he had put away money should bad times come. When he was caught, we had enough savings to tide me over. All legal, out of reach of the courts and the police."  
  
Neal listened carefully. As much as he had squirreled the objects of his heists away, he had not thought ahead as much as Byron did.  
  
June sipped her tea, now rather cold, but she didn't seem to notice. "I would have given it all up, of course, if I could have him back home."  
  
  
*****  
  
(Prompt: # 087 Touch)  
  
June refilled her mug, steeling herself with the warm liquid in her hands. "The hardest part was visiting him in prison. It was difficult for me to see him like that, but it was more difficult for him. He refused to have his girls come and see him there. He did not want them remembering him in a prison uniform."  
  
"Every week I would come to visit, and after hours of waiting we would finally get a few minutes. I longed to feel his touch, but I was denied even that. And before I knew it, the visit was over."  
  
  
*****  
  
(Prompt: # 094 Cry)  
  
"Oh my goodness," June continued, "I tried to keep up a front during the days, but at nights, I simply collapsed. I cried and I cried."  
  
Now she could smile at the memory. "But, you know," she added, "in retrospect, it might have been the best thing that happened to us."  
  
"Byron getting caught. Really?"  
  
"Jail wasn't a picnic, I'm sure you know."  
  
Neal smiled.  
  
"-But," June continued, "it gave us the opportunity to start fresh. Hustling games with the great players was fun, but we had everything we needed. And we had our daughters we needed to think of."  
  
  
*****  
  
(Prompt: # 023 Gold)  
  
June reached out to clasp Neal's hand. "Friendship, trust... these things are worth far more than gold. You've got that with Mozzie. With Peter, it's going to take more time."  
  
"Peter doesn't trust me," Neal said. "I don't think he ever will."  
  
"Maybe," June allowed. After all, she knew Neal and his schemes. "But the first step in getting Peter to trust you, is to trust him too."  
  
"I do trust him," Neal protested.  
  
June gave him a look.  
  
"I do."  
  
"He's your friend, Neal. He cares about you, and about Mozzie too. Trust him to do the right thing."


	17. Mentor

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompts: 041 Evidence, 043 Guilty, 020 Credit, 106 Week, 192 Fool, 052 Shave, 158 Desert, 066 Run, 067 Walk, 125 Meeting, 104 Seed, 089 Aim, 186 Lure, 118 Dance, 129 Emotions, 065 Earn

(Prompt: # 041 Evidence)  
  
Peter sat in his office, working. After Diana had left for the night, he had decided that, as disappointed as he was with Neal's behavior, solving the case might get both him and Mozzie off the hook.  
  
The diamonds, as well as the money confiscated from Mozzie, were in the evidence safe. The rest - Mozzie's phone records and the interrogation transcripts - were in the case file. Not that the latter helped much. Moore didn't know anything, and Mozzie refused to talk.  
  
Peter spread everything out on his desk, trying to see if there was anything there that he had missed.  
  
  
*****  
  
(Prompt: # 043 Guilty)  
  
Mozzie was guilty, there was no question about it. He'd been caught red-handed trying to sell his forged diamonds. As for Neal - Peter wasn't so sure.  
  
But the truth was that for all his anger at both his criminal informant and his even more criminal friend, Peter didn't want to see either of them end up in jail. First things first, he had to find the forger who produced those diamonds. And then he might be able to find a solution for the problem at hand. One which wouldn't require him to give up his integrity in the process.  
  
  
*****  
  
(Prompt: # 020 Credit)  
  
To Neal's credit, the conman had given the FBI far more than his deal required him to. When Peter had accepted the deal, he had thought that Neal would serve as a consultant. Advise the team. Teach them the tricks of the trade from the criminals' perspective. But Neal wasn't one to sit at a desk and give tips. He had joined the team, and he had done so whole-heartedly. He didn't just tell them what to do, he showed them how to do it, even if at first he had to con his way into their FBI ops.  
  
*****  
  
(Prompt: # 106 Week)  
  
Just a week ago, the department had closed a big case. Their biggest in months. It had been a priority case for the Bureau chiefs and after they had announced the arrests, Peter had gotten all the congratulations and back-patting from the big bosses. He had pointed out to them that without Neal's undercover work the case wouldn't have gotten off the ground. Neal had gone in unarmed, with no flak vest to protect him should anything go wrong. He had spent days on end in very high-risk situations in order to bring them the evidence they needed.  
  
  
*****  
  
(Prompt: # 192 Fool)  
  
The higher-ups weren't impressed. Neal wasn't only a criminal, he was a trouble maker. He escaped his probation, started off an international manhunt, and managed to get away with a slap on the wrist. He was lucky he was working for the FBI and not wasting away in a jail cell in Sing Sing.  
  
Peter had thought they were fools. They never saw the outside of their plush Washington office. For them Neal was just a name in an official file, with a mug shot to boot. But now he realized it was easy to fall into that trap.  
  
  
*****  
  
(Prompt: # 052 Shave)  
  
Scratching his chin, Peter felt the stubble that had grown on his cheeks as the day wore on. The stubble, which looked so fashionable on Neal, just made Peter look and feel old and tired. He needed a shave. Actually, what he really needed was to go home, where he could relax with his wife, where he could unwind. Sit back on his couch with a beer and catch a game. He didn't think he was asking for much.  
  
But all this will have to wait for later. Rubbing his eyes, he focused on the page in front of him.  
  
  
*****  
  
(Prompt: # 158 Desert)  
  
For the second time that day, Neal made his way to the FBI offices. The sun wasn't shining this time around. It was late at night. The businessmen of earlier had been replaced with people out to have a good time.  
  
Maybe things would have been different if he had been more like Mozzie. As far as Moz was concerned, he could go anywhere and still feel at home. He didn't care. He could live in a tent in the middle of the desert. As long as he had the ability to continue dreaming up his cons, he was happy.  
  
  
*****  
  
(Prompt: # 066 Run )  
  
Neal was different. It hadn't always been like that. He had fun when he was on the run, before he got arrested.  
  
But since his release, he had built a life in New York. It wasn't just the skyscrapers and the teeming streets. It was the people he had met here, like Peter and his White Collar team. He didn't want to give it up.  
  
Neal figured by now everybody would have gone home over at the FBI. It would give him time to review the evidence, and maybe he'd come up with a way to finger Mozzie's mystery forger.  
  
  
*****  
  
(Prompt: # 067 Walk)  
  
Neal walked into the White Collar department. He didn't expect to find anybody there, and hesitated at the door when he noticed the lights on in Peter's office.  
  
Squaring his shoulders, he pushed the door open.  
  
Peter looked up from his work to see his CI walking up the steps towards his office. He had been so absorbed in his work, it had been a while since he'd taken a look at Neal's tracking data. He hadn't noticed Neal had left home.  
  
He leaned back in his chair when Neal stopped at his door. "You're supposed to be at home."  
  
  
*****  
  
(Prompt: # 125 Meeting)  
  
Neal chuckled.  
  
Not exactly the response Peter was expecting. "What?" he asked.  
  
Neal leaned against the door frame. "When I first met Mozzie, we both conned each other."  
  
"Yeah, you told me." Peter remembered that all-nighter conversation with Neal, when the CI had told him how he had come to New York and met Mozzie. "Find the Lady, in the park."  
  
Neal looked up at Peter. "Right. He saw me as just another mark, and I was new in town and I just wanted to make a quick buck. But he didn't care, he wanted us to be partners."  
  
*****  
  
(Prompt: # 104 Seed)  
  
Despite the circumstances of that first meeting, Mozzie looked past all the superficialities. He saw in Neal something that Neal didn't even see in himself. A person he could trust.  
  
"He nurtured me. He made me who I am. Without Mozzie..." Neal trailed off. "Well, without him in my life, I don't know where I'd be now. Definitely not here working with you."  
  
Peter tilted his head in surprise. "You're saying  _Mozzie_  got you to work for the FBI?"  
  
"Well, no," Neal allowed. "Not directly. But without him, I would have ended up with the likes of Keller and Wilkes."  
  
  
*****  
  
(Prompt: # 089 Aim)  
  
"Without Mozzie," Neal continued, "I'd have ended up dead somewhere."  
  
"Or," Peter pointed out, "you might have ended up realizing crime wasn't good for you."  
  
"Maybe," Neal chuckled. "But Mozzie also taught me that nothing is beyond reach. That I should set my sights high, and that I could reach my goal, no matter how fantastic it was."  
  
Or, in Mozzie's words, which Neal wasn't going to repeat right now: "no con is too outlandish". Whether it was jumping off the 43rd floor or befriending the FBI agent who'd sent him to jail. Neal had learned he could do anything.  
  
  
*****  
  
(Prompt: # 186 Lure)  
  
Neal knew that Peter wouldn't be happy with everything he had learned from his mentor.  
  
Mozzie had taught Neal the art of the con. How to lure the unsuspecting mark to do exactly what you wanted him to. Neal had gotten some experience with that even before he met Mozzie, but Mozzie's techniques were on a whole different level. This wasn't just a card game in the park. Step by step, Mozzie showed Neal how to fleece a multi-millionaire businessman.  
  
Of course, that first attempt hadn't turned out as well as they had both expected. They got fleeced instead.  
  
  
*****  
  
(Prompt: # 118 Dance)  
  
But Adler's deceit was all par for the course. You won some, you lost some. Not every con worked out perfectly and even conmen could become marks.  
  
Long as you remained standing, in one piece, you learned from your mistakes and you did better next time around.  
  
For Mozzie it was all a dance. Criminals. Marks. Even the Suits. All swinging around one big dance floor. Sometimes the Feds led, sometimes the criminals. Nobody really paying attention to the beat. Your goal was to twirl around for as long as you could and make sure nobody stepped on your feet.  
  
  
*****  
  
(Prompt: # 129 Emotions)  
  
Peter rubbed his forehead. "Neal, what are you doing here?"  
  
"I want to help you find the diamond forger," Neal replied.  
  
Peter looked at his CI. "So you think you could do the impossible and find a way to get Mozzie out of jail?"  
  
Neal shrugged. "Something to that effect." He hesitated before continuing. "Look, Peter, maybe you think I let my emotions cloud my judgment-"  
  
Peter raised a hand to stop him. "No. I think  _I_  let my emotions cloud my judgment. I was disappointed that you tried to ruin my case, and that you went behind my back."  
  
  
*****  
  
(Prompt: # 065 Earn )  
  
"I was disappointed," Peter continued, "that you thought you could then hide-"  
  
"Peter," Neal interrupted him, "I couldn't let Mozzie get arrested."  
  
"You should have talked to me."  
  
"I know."  
  
"If only you'd have talked to me," Peter explained, with a sigh, "I might have been able to find a different solution. One that didn't involve slapping cuffs on Mozzie."  
  
Neal locked gazes with Peter. "I want to earn back your trust."  
  
Peter fixed his gaze on Neal. He had to ask the question. "Did you forge those diamonds?"  
  
"No."  
  
Peter gestured towards the guest chairs. "Pull up a chair."


	18. Choices

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompts: 107 Month, 099 Burn, 003 Hunt, 146 Genius, 110 Smile, 071 Rain, 016 Paint, 086 Stroke, 062 Duplicate, 021 Loan, 081 Dirty, 098 Collapse, 064 Launder, 079 Fresh, 013 Unit, 122 Edit, 167 Race, 112 Laugh

****  
(Prompt: # 107 Month)  
  
Neal looked at the files spread out over Peter's desk. Despite his wish to help Mozzie, this was the less fun part of investigating. "Have you found anything?"  
  
Peter grinned at him. He liked digging through paperwork. "I've been looking through Mozzie's call data." He handed Neal a stack of papers. "Moore said that Mozzie contacted him a month ago."  
  
"Right."  
  
"So," Peter explained, "let's assume Mozzie got in touch with our forger just before that."  
  
Neal glanced at the papers. "We're looking for a number Mozzie started calling about a month ago."  
  
"Exactly."  
  
And back to paperwork it was.  
  
  
*****  
  
(Prompt: # 099 Burn)  
  
After more than an hour of work and just when Neal started thinking that a break might be a good idea right about now, Peter looked up with a smile. "I think I got something." He tapped a number on the printout he was reviewing.  
  
Neal craned his neck to see the number.  
  
Peter meanwhile entered it into the FBI database. He shook his head when the results came back. "It's a burner phone," he said. "I guess that shouldn't be surprising."  
  
"Yeah," Neal commented, "most of Mozzie's friends use burner phones."  
  
Peter looked up from the printout. "Do  _you?_ "  
  
  
*****  
  
(Prompt: # 003 Hunt)  
  
Neal looked up at Peter. "So we found our forger."  
  
"Possibly." Peter didn't like to jump to conclusions.  
  
Which didn't bother Neal in the least. "So we're done."  
  
"Oh, no, the hunt is just beginning." Peter pushed his chair back as he started outlining their next steps. "First, we're going to get our lab to try and locate this phone. We locate our forger, then we set up the takedown."  
  
Neal glanced at the call printouts. Using a burner phone for a whole month was quite a risk. Apparently Ms. Forger didn't worry about the FBI coming after her. Yet.  
  
  
*****  
  
(Prompt: # 146 Genius)  
  
Neal grabbed the evidence bag containing Mozzie's phone and slipped the device out of the plastic bag.  
  
"What are you doing?"  
  
Neal was already inputting the number. He got out of his chair and moved back to avoid Peter's attempt at grabbing back the phone. "You want to find the forger, right?"  
  
"Neal, give me back the phone."  
  
Neal held the phone to his ear. "It's ringing."  
  
"Neal!" Peter lunged across the desk to try and get the phone.  
  
Just then a voice answered on the other side. Neal held up a finger. "Shh!"  
  
"Pure genius," Peter mumbled to himself.  
  
  
*****  
  
(Prompt: # 110 Smile)  
  
The woman on the other side of the phone was quite surprised to hear somebody who wasn't Mozzie, but Neal managed to smooth talk her into setting up a meet.  
  
Neal hung up with a smile, only to find Peter glaring at him. "What?"  
  
"I could have called myself."  
  
"So why didn't you?" Before Peter could tell him why, Neal continued, "Look, by the time you got around to setting up your sting, she could have been spooked off and dropped the phone."  
  
"You could have spooked her off too."  
  
"Peter, I'm a con, okay? This is what I do."  
  
  
*****  
  
(Prompt: # 071 Rain )  
  
 _"I'm a con."_  
  
The words threw Peter back.  
  
It had been just a few months ago. Neal and Peter had gone to Neal's apartment to prepare for an FBI sting operation. Mozzie was there too, doing whatever it was that Mozzie usually did in Neal's apartment during the day. Peter wasn't sure.  
  
It was a stormy day and it was raining cats and dogs outside. But inside Neal's studio it was warm and cosey. The rain pitter-pattered against the large patio windows. All around lamps threw their cheerful light around, chasing away the darkness of the cloudy sky outside.  
  
  
*****  
  
(Prompt: # 016 Paint)  
  
Neal stood by an easel, quietly painting. As a criminal informant working for the FBI, he had (mostly) given up on forging paintings. He did dabble with historical styles every now and then, but he couldn't have Peter walking in to find a Caffrey-made Monet or a Rembrandt.  
  
Today, therefore, was a special day. Today he could forge to his heart's desire. Because the FBI needed a Picasso for one of their stings, and Neal had been chosen (out of all FBI artists) to forge it. A Bureau sanctioned forgery. They even paid for the canvas, paints and brushes.  
  
  
*****  
  
(Prompt: # 086 Stroke)  
  
Neal was laying on the paint in broad strokes.  
  
Peter stood behind him, watching as, stroke by stroke, his CI turned the canvas into a masterpiece. Until Neal turned around, not bothering to hide his annoyance. "You're throwing a shadow."  
  
"Sorry." Peter took a small step back.  
  
"It's still there."  
  
"How do you know?"  
  
Neal grabbed Peter's arms, and pushed him several feet back. "There. And don't pass this line." He marked an imaginary line with his foot.  
  
"But now I can't see," Peter protested.  
  
Neal turned back to his work. "That's the whole point," he muttered under his breath.  
  
  
*****  
  
(Prompt: # 062 Duplicate )  
  
Unsure what to do with himself, Peter sat down on the couch across from Mozzie. The man was sipping a glass of wine while reading a philosophy book. He looked up at Peter. "You realize you're not going to succeed in your nefarious plot to mold Neal in your own image."  
  
Where did that come from? "What?"  
  
Mozzie flipped a page.  
  
Peter glanced over at Neal, who was frowning in concentration at his painting.  
  
Mozzie put down his book. "You see," he continued, "he enjoys the criminal life."  
  
"Right now he's doing a job for the FBI."  
  
"That's only temporary."  
  
  
*****  
  
(Prompt: # 021 Loan)  
  
"You've got him as a loan, Suit," Mozzie said. "Tomorrow Neal will get out from under your thumb, and he'll be free to do whatever he wants."  
  
Peter shot a glance at Neal, just to make sure he wasn't listening in. "Neal enjoys working for the FBI."  
  
Mozzie snorted. "As if he has a choice. Guys like us, Suit,  _live_  the life. You take that away, you'll be taking away the very thing that makes Neal tick."  
  
Peter raised an eyebrow. "That's very existential of you."  
  
Mozzie waved that away. "Do you really see him joining your little rat race?"  
  
  
*****  
  
(Prompt: # 081 Dirty )  
  
Peter shook his head. "It's not an either-or proposition, Mozzie. There  _are_  other career paths -  _legal_  jobs - that Neal could pursue, if he wanted to."  
  
"Such as?"  
  
Peter counted it off on his fingers. "He could go into insurance retrieval. Like Sara."  
  
Mozzie snorted.  
  
"Or art appraisal. The art world has a lot to offer."  
  
Mozzie shook his head.  
  
"He could make legal forgeries." Peter pointed to where Neal was working. "Like he's doing now."  
  
"That's doesn't sound like a lot of fun."  
  
"Fun doesn't have to be dirty."  
  
"There's nothing dirty about a well-executed con," Mozzie sniffed.  
  
  
*****  
  
(Prompt: # 098 Collapse)  
  
"What are you afraid of, Mozzie? Do you think your world will collapse if Neal decides to go legit."  
  
"My world is not built on Neal Caffrey alone."  
  
"No, I suppose not," Peter agreed after a moment's silence. "But, if you ever do want to move into a legal field, I could help you."  
  
Mozzie blinked at him from behind his thick lenses. "Seriously, Suit?"  
  
"Yeah," Peter answered, trying to sound far more convinced then he actually was. "I'm sure I could find a job for an overly-paranoid, conspiracy-oriented, meticulous planner such as yourself."  
  
"You must be nuts."  
  
  
*****  
  
(Prompt: # 064 Launder )  
  
Peter sighed. "Don't you want to once in your life earn legal money? The kind you don't need to launder in order to use?"  
  
Mozzie blinked at him. "What's wrong with laundering money?"  
  
It was worse than trying to talk sense into Neal.  
  
Ironically enough, that's exactly the way Mozzie felt. A nine-to-five job meant being in the system. It meant paying taxes and social security, worrying about your pension, waking up every morning just to be at your boss' beck and call. Mozzie shuddered at the mere thought.  
  
"It doesn't matter, Suit. Neal can't escape his destiny."  
  
  
*****  
  
(Prompt: # 079 Fresh)  
  
"What are you thinking about?" Neal asked, interrupting Peter's reverie.  
  
"Oh, nothing." Peter waved the question away. "Just a discussion I had with Mozzie a while back."  
  
"Really?" Neal asked, curiously. "What was it about?"  
  
Peter was about to brush Neal off, but then thought better of it. Maybe it was finally time to get the brutal truth. "It was about you, actually."  
  
"Me?"  
  
"Yeah," Peter replied. "It was about whether you'd rather choose my side or his."  
  
"Look, Peter." Neal put Mozzie's phone back on the desk. "I want to make a fresh start."  
  
Peter was relieved. "Good."  
  
"But."  
  
  
*****  
  
(Prompt: # 013 Unit)  
  
"But what?" Peter asked, suspicion written all over his face.  
  
"Being part of White Collar," Neal said, "I love it. Being part of this unit, it gives me purpose when I get up in the morning. You've all become a very important part of my life. Almost a family."  
  
Peter didn't see where the 'but' came in.  
  
Neal sighed. "But I can't give up on who I am."  
  
Peter had heard that before. "You can't escape your destiny?"  
  
Neal blinked at Peter, unsure what the guy was talking about. "What?"  
  
"Um." Peter realized he misspoke. "Never mind. You were saying?"  
  
  
*****  
  
(Prompt: # 122 Edit)  
  
"There are things I would change about my life, if I could." He would certainly go back and rewrite his childhood. His father's crimes, his mother's inability to function. His jail term might also go out the window. "But Mozzie's friendship is not something I'd give up."  
  
"I see."  
  
"I wouldn't give up on your friendship either." He could see Peter wasn't completely buying it. "It doesn't have to be an either-or proposition."  
  
"Neal, when you finish your stint here with us, you'll have the choice to go back to a criminal life."  
  
"Don't worry. I'll find my way."  
  
  
*****  
  
(Prompt: # 167 Race)  
  
Neal ran a hand through his hair, trying to get his thoughts in order. "This isn't a race between you and Moz."  
  
Now it was Peter's turn not to follow. "Nobody said it is."  
  
"I don't want to choose between my friends."  
  
"Look" Peter said, "I was wrong to put you in such a position. But this isn't about choosing your friends, it's about choosing your future. Remember? You can either be a con or a man - you can't be both."  
  
"It's not all about crime, Peter. Part of being a con is finding a way to do the impossible."  
  
  
*****  
  
(Prompt: # 112 Laugh)  
  
"Talking about the impossible," Peter said, "catching this diamond forger won't get Mozzie off the hook. He was still fencing them."  
  
"I see." All this work for nothing.  
  
"But if I say he helped close the case..." Peter continued, carefully, "as an FBI informant - I'll have grounds for releasing him."  
  
"He'll hate that."  
  
"I'm sure he will." Knowing Mozzie, he would probably demand to be sent back to jail.  
  
Neal suddenly chuckled.  
  
"What?"  
  
"If I didn't know better, I'd say you were enjoying conning the system."  
  
"It's not all about crime, remember?" Peter smirked. "I'd call it Mozzie's karmic payback."

 


	19. The Never-Ending Story

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I said the story is over, but it never really is.
> 
> Prompts: 050 Hat, 010 Home

(Prompt: # 050 Hat)  
  
It was finally time to head home. Tomorrow was another day. A day for setting up their takedown, and for setting the bureaucratic wheels in motion to get Mozzie out of jail. A day for putting this case behind them.  
  
Peter was looking forward to it. He shrugged into his jacket. "Can I give you a ride home?" he asked.  
  
Neal shook his head. "No... I'll walk, thanks."  
  
"Right. I'll see you tomorrow?"  
  
Neal grinned at him. "Bright and early."  
  
He flipped his hat onto his head. It was funny how it had become such an integral part of him.  
  
  
*****  
  
(Prompt: # 010 Home )  
  
Back out on the street, filled with people out to have a good time, Neal stopped to breath in the city.  
  
A lot has changed since he signed that deal with Peter. Back then he was chasing a dream that he could never reach. It seemed like so long ago. A different life.  
  
Now he had friends who cared about him, each in their own way. And though they sometimes got upset at him, they would always remain his friends.  
  
He was home now. And he knew that no matter what the future held for him - he'd find his way.


End file.
